Vikter Duplaix is one of those guys who has no problem attracting the ladies. A self-admitted “playboy type of guy” who maintains a positive, yet sensitive, outlook on life, Duplaix lays all of his emotions out on the table-think a modern-day Barry White with a much higher voice á la Prince-in his solo debut album International Affairs. Epitomizing the term “buttery smooth,” the Philly-bred producer/vocalist/DJ (he’s worked with King Britt, Jazzanova, Erykah Badu and many others) has crafted an album that just drips of sex. Blurring the lines between shuffling jazz, jaunty Latin flavors and percolating hip-hop rhythms, Duplaix emphasizes supple keyboard playing, lush strings and his whispery, earnest vocals as the centerpiece. Just when you start rolling your eyes and thinking “god, ol’ Vik can be a bit self-indulgent at times,” you find yourself humming along with the infectious melodies and his rich, multi-tracked vocal harmonies. Unabashedly upbeat, this isn’t a perfect album; the guitar solos are a bit much, and it’s a toss-up as to when the best time for sex is-“Morning Fun” or “Late Night Rendezvous.” But then again, the various bumps along the way are what make Affairs so damn interesting. And who doesn’t like sex?
Various Artists Funk for the 21st Century
If you haven’t been keeping up with the contemporary funk movement, shame on you, first of all. Second of all, you have a chance for redemption, because Keb Darge has got your back. Known among those hardcore diggers with busted backs and bloody cuticles as one of the best to ever raid record spots, Darge has been making a name for himself Stateside by compiling his rarest and funkiest gems. Now he turns his attention to the cream of the new crop, serving up 14 raw-to-the-bone gems from folks like the Sugarman Three, Speedometer and the inimitable Sharon Jones. Listen and learn, folks, because these records will be tomorrow’s sought-after heavyweights.
People Under the Stairs Acid Raindrops
This cut wouldn’t sound out of place on The Low-End Theory. It’s got that warm and funky but slightly melancholy vibe to it, like the last people at a house party drunkenly spouting wistful philosophies. The rapping’s not flashy, but sits snugly in the pocket. On the B-side, “Hang Loose Part 2” is OK, but doesn’t live up to the first “Hang Loose;” “Montego Slay” brings an appealing midtempo groove. PUTS aren’t that blow-your-mind group, and that’s why they succeed. They prove that doing the basics doesn’t make them everyday People.
The Beatnuts The Originators
Even the most annoying anti-bootlegging sound effect in the world can’t cover up the stank of some seriously potent funk-as on this, the Beatnuts’ best effort since their debut LP. The beats are strictly hard-knockers, and Psycho Les and Juju have stepped up their lyrical game as well. Peep Juju on “Routine”: “I’d rather make a beat that’s food for the spirit / Make the crowd lose it every time they hear it, / Producers try to bite, but they don’t come near it / Loops so obscure you ain’t even gotta clear it.” This album exceeds all expectations and is an absolute must-have for fans of roughneck hip-hop. Definitely one of the best of the year.
Supremeex Koyaanisqatsi
SupremeEx, the producer behind 2000’s impressive “Projecto: 2501” EP, now comes with an interesting and well-developed 7-inch. The A-side, “640 Caravans Making Right Turns, ” (no, I don’t get the title either) is the sleepier of the two, though the underlying thumping drums keep it from getting stale. The flip, “Angelic Groove,” continues the A-side’s loop-stacking theme, but colors the atmosphere more than creates nifty polyrhythms. Nice.
Various Artists Badmeaningood Vol. 2: Roots Manuva
Is it our duty as good hipsters to hate on branded compilation series? If the people running the Badmeaningood series have anything to say about it, they’ll smack us around for being narrow-minded little elitists, then send the mighty Roots Manuva over with big bag o’ records to play for us, just to be nice. The British hip-hop maverick brings the same eclectic, soulful aesthetic that animates his albums to his installment of this series, yanking us back and forth across the Atlantic, ranging through soul, English pop, drum & bass, and hip-hop old and new. The mixing tends toward hard fades instead of beatmatching, but how can you stay mad at a man who slots his own spooky-ass cover of “Yellow Submarine” (yes, that “Yellow Submarine,” fool) as the penultimate track here? In this case, yes, bad does mean good-so stop hating, hipster.
Supersoul 40 Acres and a Moog
You’ve heard Supersoul already, you just may not know it. Omar Clemetson, from Jamaica to Miami, has had a hand in the cities’ vital electronic scenes for years, working the mixing desk for Florida’s indigenous labels like Chocolate Industries. As befits his history, Supersoul’s debut is a mélange of advanced electronic-based styles, from dub to avant-hip-hop to hard-edged electronica. Rather than work a cut-and-paste emphasizing the seams between these styles, Clemetson dismantles the beats in his head and reassembles them at a molecular level, leaving only traces of older genres that enhance the deep and mysterious mood at work here. Occasional guest vocalist Judah Manson is the verbal counterpart to his beats, able to flow ragga-style or kick a plainspoken rap and simultaneously forge something new.
Various Artists Multiplex: Mixt
Remix compilations can be like pro sports, with the field crowded with wannabe superstars all trying to outdo each other and win a big contract in the process. Mixt, a collection of remixes of the duo Multiplex, deftly dodges the showmanship problem by handing a superb group of remixers an equally superb set of tracks and letting them run wild, so that everyone scores big. Russian duo EU fashion a gorgeous version of “Neuteq,” with buzzes and hums hanging suspended, and a rhythmic dripping effect wandering around catching the beat. Animals on Wheels transform “Bevel” from a piano-led dirge to a piece of scratchy musique concrete with aching slowness. Then Mitchell Akiyama tears the roof off using “Patience,” as his fuzzy, crackling wall of sound drifts with the intensity of a winter storm sprawling across the Doppler. Put simply, Mixt is a handpicked championship IDM team playing with the home-field advantage provided by Multiplex’s excellent originals.
Subthunk Just a Few Notes Before You Go
Say it a few times. “Subthunk.” Roll it around a little; try stretching out one of the syllables. “Suuuuubthunk.” Make it sound like a food, or make it more onomatopoeic, like an upended bowl of spaghetti hitting the floor. It’s a great name, at once sensual and evocative while completely lacking actual meaning. Subthunk is a quartet comprised of curiously fictional-sounding fellows like Ant and Pharaoh, who make hyperactive keyboard-led instrumentals with drums and guitar synth making guest appearances and a nasty, slappy funk bass under everything. Like the squishy name, Subthunk is an uneasy marriage of the organic, with noodly solos wrapping around and around, and that bass honking away; and the post-human, with goofy samples and live drums that mimic drum & bass programming.
Various Artists Panoptica: The Tijuana Remixes
Mexico’s Panoptica enlists his boys from the Nortec Collective to plunge their very capable hands into his slippery downtempo tracks. With rimshots gleaming discretely in its smooth expanse, The Tijuana Remixes is a smooth lounge experience in Panoptica’s signature slim-luxe style. The Tijuana Remixes ripple between minimal house, techno and slower, and at times can be a maddening listen: the tracks are sleek and supple, but one can’t help but desire more of the richer thickness that the final track, “She’s in Fiestas,” approaches. The Remixes unfurl like a bolt of clear silk, revealing themselves upon touch to be a bit thin, but still lovely.
