Pitch Black-a.k.a. Kamau Bakari, a champion slam poet and former Kemetic priesthood trainee-matches his verbal skills against Rob J.’s original beats on the Pitch Black Insperience, and rarely has the ghetto griot ethos been spelled out so plaintively. Bakari takes rap back to its raw, primal essence, with 20+ tracks of spoken word imagery, turf sensibility and spiritual philosophy. Resisting any temptation to bling-one song is called “Can’t Glamorize”-P. Bleezy doesn’t hesitate to dis his mama’s “slave religion” in the liner notes. Such brutal honesty on the m-i-c deserves appreciation, even if the lack of catchy hooks makes this underground classic somewhat of a sleeper, sure to spread more through word of mouth than surface-level buzz. For what it’s worth, however, Pitch Black’s talk is as real as it gets.
Schmahl & Niederhofer Mystic Journey
This deep, dark and minimal track sports washing swooshes, bleeps and blips, and even a squeegee of doom noise, with delays and slow decays reminiscent of Monolake. The Heiko Laux-like flipside descends into a dark, icy cave as the beat carries you onward.
Fog Ether Teeth
Sitting (or possibly bouncing off the walls) at the furthest and most difficult end of Ninja Tune’s increasingly broad spectrum, is Andrew Broder as Fog and his second album Ether Teeth. It’s difficult to know where to begin, such is the magnitude of things crammed into this record. Fog seems to have the ability to directly transfer the contents of his head into music. And those contents comprise a strange brew, with elements of country and western, jazz, hip-hop, rock, blues and electronica all circling each other in a peculiar dance. For every moment of blatant beauty-for example the short but strangely sweet “CheerupCheerily” and the spellbinding “UnderAAnvilTree”-there’s a moment of pure confusion. Ideas and threads, both musical and vocal, constantly float past your grasp of comparison, which, ultimately, is a good thing.
Various Club Bogaloo 2
Celebrating the fifth anniversary of their highly regarded club night, Club Bogaloo present their second compilation of exclusive cuts from the high quality selection of artists who have graced their decks. Their tag line, “more freestyles out of nowhere,” is certainly apt, as this collection moves with customary European style from the deep bossa jazz of Ian Simmonds’s project Wiseintime, through the deep house of Jimpster, to the string-laden jazz of Reunion. Despite a couple of fillers, this is top-grade stuff, with Mark De Clive Lowe’s ace broken vocal garage track “The Way That It Goes,” and Bugz man Alex Phountzi’s “Make It Right” (featuring the wonderful Vanessa Freeman) standing proud in the selection and worth the admission price alone.
Gavounna Warm Industry
Continuing their lineage of discovering unknown, highly talented artists, Melodic provide a debut release for Greek producer Athanasios Argianas as Gavounna, a worthy labelmate for Melodic’s already impressive stable, which includes Minotaur Shock, Lucky Pierre and Pedro. A proponent of found-sound-sampling, Gavounna constructs incredibly delicate instrumental tracks, imperceptibly shifting through both organic and electronic sources, touching on contemporary classical, electronica and (although not obviously) a certain atmosphere of traditional Greek music. Plaintive and often melancholy, Gavounna deftly conjures sounds that evoke life, rich in texture and often dreamlike in quality. For comparison, see Susumu Yokota and Mira Calix; for gentle experimental joy, see Gavounna.
Foreign Legion Playtight
Bay Area b-boys extraordinaire Foreign Legion-Marc Stretch, Prozack and DJ Design-come strong on their aptly titled sophomore LP. High-octane party jams dominate, with block-rocking beats and braggadocio-filled rhymes galore. Never taking themselves too seriously, the NoCal trio let loose with 13 quality joints dedicated to mic-rocking, liquor-sipping and running game on the honeys. Check out the swinging retro-funk of “Party Crashers” or the neck-breaking “How Do It Feel?” for prime examples of the FL’s sonic superiority.
Wildchild Secondary Protocol
World renown for his devastating lyrical skills, Wildchild has been blazing mics for over a decade, alongside his Lootpack cohorts and on various singles and collaborations. For his much-anticipated solo debut, he further proves himself as an “emcee’s emcee,” unleashing a torrent of complex yet funky wordplay throughout. Produced entirely by Stones Throw compatriots Madlib and Oh No, Secondary Protocol bangs from start to finish, highlighted by instant classics like “Code Red” and “Puttin’ In Work.” Guests include Medaphoar, LMNO, Percee P, Planet Asia and Aceyalone, though Wildchild himself is the real star here.
Akrobatik Balance
Coming out of Dorchester, MA, Akrobatik has been making noise for several years now, releasing an EP and multiple singles, such as the notorious “Internet MCs” joint back in ’99. On his debut full-length, Balance, he flaunts a smooth but strong rhyme style, addressing ever-pertinent topics like the ladies, knuckleheads and real hip-hop. Production duties are handled by Fakts One, DJ Revolution, Diamond D and Da Beatminerz, who all come nice with bump-heavy, sample-based beats. Standout tracks include the seductive funk of “Woman II,” the autobiographical “Here And Now,” and “Wreck Dem,” a rowdy collabo with Mr. Lif.
Ghetto Priest Vulture Culture
On.U posse front man and brooding lyricist Ghetto Priest lets forth on this deep debut, pairing his dark lyrics and soulful delivery with Adrian Sherwood’s swirling production. Bubbly dubs here, hard-edged distorted guitar there, roots stylee at one moment, dancehall boasts at another. Priest sings mournful chants against Babylon on cuts like “Earthquake in the Heart of Rome,” and then backs the impossibly fast lyrical jabs by Irish chatter RiRa and the bassy bark of Simon Bogle. It’s dancehall turned on its head in characteristic On.U fashion: always on the attack, keeping you off balance like a pink-faced Englishman poking you in the chest with one hand while slopping lager on his shoes with the other.
Cinematic Orchestra Man with a Movie Camera
Evoking Portishead’s ability to create groove and atmosphere simultaneously, Cinematic Orchestra brings depth and nuance to this interpretive set based on a silent 1930s-era Soviet propaganda film. If all that sounds terribly heavy, imagine a grainy black-and-white film depicting scenes of the idealized socialist life-spare, quiet, funny and a little sad-and you get a sense of Cinematic’s jazzy constructions of samples, funky keys, grave strings, squealing saxophones and warm bass riffs. The tracks knock you out with their understated simplicity and occasionally goofy nostalgia, effortlessly creating a sense of an end, feeling and naive hope now long since vanished.
