Avoid this if you're feeling lovelorn - it's Calle 13 rapping over a ukelele, to make the soppiest love song ever. The verses of the lyrics are this brilliant bizarre fantasy ("for you, I'll cross any border with no visa//And I'll get a proper smile from the Mona Lisa...") and the chorus is a brutally simple declaration of love.
The sound of it reminds me of my favourite ukelele mash-up too.
The video is spectacularly bizarre - it wouldn't be Calle 13 if it wasn't political. Their latest album, which Muerte In Hawaii is off, also has their most beautiful political song to date.
Sunday 31 July 2011
Tuesday 26 July 2011
NickNack - Life In The Speaker
I first heard this on Ernest Gonzales' amazing Texas Compilation (which you can download for free)
For me this is one of the standout tracks on a phenomenally diverse mixtape. It's dreamy and propulsive all at once, and (for once) I actually like the old-school wicky-wick scratches.
NickNack explains his good intentions in this interview, and also talks about the crossover between jazz and hip-hop. He's a melody-driven producer, so if you like your electro to sound like robots singing gospel, this is the stuff.
You can hear more NickNack on his Myspace and his Soundcloud, and you should definitely also get that mixtape. It's free - what harm can it do?
NickNack - Life In The Speaker by nicknack
For me this is one of the standout tracks on a phenomenally diverse mixtape. It's dreamy and propulsive all at once, and (for once) I actually like the old-school wicky-wick scratches.
NickNack explains his good intentions in this interview, and also talks about the crossover between jazz and hip-hop. He's a melody-driven producer, so if you like your electro to sound like robots singing gospel, this is the stuff.
You can hear more NickNack on his Myspace and his Soundcloud, and you should definitely also get that mixtape. It's free - what harm can it do?
NickNack - Life In The Speaker by nicknack
Creezy Hype - Gnarls Barkley/Rubi Dan/T.O.K/Beenie Man
Oooh sugar this one's sweet. I love mashups, and I love dancehall, and I love Cee-Lo. So it's obvious that I'd love this, and anyone who showed it to me.
It's got a smart opening verse by a little known London MC, on top of The Heatwave's refix of that ubiquitous, incredible Gnarls Barkley track.
T.O.K. and Beenie Man are both famous in the UK primarily for their rampant homophobia, but these particular verses are unoffensive, and incredibly catchy (especially the hooks). Oh, and it's up for free download.
It's got a smart opening verse by a little known London MC, on top of The Heatwave's refix of that ubiquitous, incredible Gnarls Barkley track.
T.O.K. and Beenie Man are both famous in the UK primarily for their rampant homophobia, but these particular verses are unoffensive, and incredibly catchy (especially the hooks). Oh, and it's up for free download.
Wednesday 20 July 2011
Clams Casino - All I Need
You might never have heard of Clams Casino, but you've heard his music.
This song is none other than the beat he made for Soulja Boy. Here it's been retrofitted (minus the dire lyrics) with scenes of Penelope Cruz in Volver.
It's dreamy, transcendent, and produced by an oh-so-modern stochastic sampling process (which is less pretentious than it sounds). You can get the whole mixtape full of goodies on free download. It's a good thing.
This song is none other than the beat he made for Soulja Boy. Here it's been retrofitted (minus the dire lyrics) with scenes of Penelope Cruz in Volver.
It's dreamy, transcendent, and produced by an oh-so-modern stochastic sampling process (which is less pretentious than it sounds). You can get the whole mixtape full of goodies on free download. It's a good thing.
Tuesday 19 July 2011
Jean Grae - Blame Game
You might not have heard of Jean Grae, but she's officially better than Kanye. Proof? This song.
It's off her latest free mixtape, built off of a Kanye instrumental and chorus, which in turn sampled Aphex Twin's piano loop.
The lyrics are exceptional - metaphor-laden, intricate, by turns obscure and straightforward (my favourite line: I'm facing this February with less morals//Less normal, more Nellie Olesen, less Laura//Had it with explorations, less Dora. Yes, she just name dropped Little House On The Prarie, and Dora The Explorer. Kaboom!)
I'd expect nothing less from her. She's one of my most favourite artists. Even her tweets are clever.
It's off her latest free mixtape, built off of a Kanye instrumental and chorus, which in turn sampled Aphex Twin's piano loop.
The lyrics are exceptional - metaphor-laden, intricate, by turns obscure and straightforward (my favourite line: I'm facing this February with less morals//Less normal, more Nellie Olesen, less Laura//Had it with explorations, less Dora. Yes, she just name dropped Little House On The Prarie, and Dora The Explorer. Kaboom!)
I'd expect nothing less from her. She's one of my most favourite artists. Even her tweets are clever.
Saturday 16 July 2011
Jamie Woon - Spirits
More loop pedal business. Ed Sheeran may have made them famous, but Jamie murks this one.
It's this intricate soulful song, which builds itself into a treasure.
It's this intricate soulful song, which builds itself into a treasure.
Jamie Woon - Wayfaring Stranger
A Eurasian boy sings an old English spiritual, to great effect.
This is Jamie Woon's original small-label debut. After it was released, he went garage (in a really really good way), but you can still hear that searching voice.
If you like this, don't forget James Blake.
This is Jamie Woon's original small-label debut. After it was released, he went garage (in a really really good way), but you can still hear that searching voice.
If you like this, don't forget James Blake.
Wednesday 13 July 2011
Boya D ft Its Nate - Pazaz
This is the brightest summeriest grime I've ever heard. There's a bouncy bloopy bassline, and Boya D drawls along like a Southern rapper.
I wouldn't expect anything less from the boy who brought us Gash By The Hour - he takes overblown to the max in the most appealing way. It's probably a little bit tounge-in-cheek.
Really nice production on the video too.
I wouldn't expect anything less from the boy who brought us Gash By The Hour - he takes overblown to the max in the most appealing way. It's probably a little bit tounge-in-cheek.
Really nice production on the video too.
Monday 11 July 2011
Andi - Taylor Webber
The last thing our Bolivian friends did was filmed on a mountain that looks like Mars, and they over-analysed a romcom in the previous video. So this minimalist video is a bit of a departure for them.
It's a sweet song - somehow it reminds me of The Moldy Peaches. If you want to see his more savage side, check out the videos of the expedition he did with his brothers into the Bolivian jungle to look for an undiscovered plane wreck. It's like the Blair Witch Project of exploration.
It's a sweet song - somehow it reminds me of The Moldy Peaches. If you want to see his more savage side, check out the videos of the expedition he did with his brothers into the Bolivian jungle to look for an undiscovered plane wreck. It's like the Blair Witch Project of exploration.
Shabazz Palaces - Belhaven Meridian
I know next to nothing about this.
They've got this snazzy (shabazz-y?) website, they've been hyped by Pitchfork, and I still know nothing.
Apparently the mystery is deliberate - an attempt to make the work stand alone and speak for itself. Which it does with style.
I'd never even heard of the film the video references, but it's still stunning. The beats are gorgeous pure-tone tightness, and the lyrics are poetry and prose.
They've got this snazzy (shabazz-y?) website, they've been hyped by Pitchfork, and I still know nothing.
Apparently the mystery is deliberate - an attempt to make the work stand alone and speak for itself. Which it does with style.
I'd never even heard of the film the video references, but it's still stunning. The beats are gorgeous pure-tone tightness, and the lyrics are poetry and prose.
Saturday 9 July 2011
The Weeknd - Wicked Games
I know I've been all over The Weeknd, but I'm not going to stop until everyone owns this mixtape. It's that good.
The more I listen to it, the more it sounds like What's Going On for an apolitical, crunked-out, self-centred, oversexed and underloved generation (that's us).
The lyrics to this are a tidy case in point, especially that last verse - it's an existential solipsistic booty call.
The more I listen to it, the more it sounds like What's Going On for an apolitical, crunked-out, self-centred, oversexed and underloved generation (that's us).
The lyrics to this are a tidy case in point, especially that last verse - it's an existential solipsistic booty call.
Tuesday 5 July 2011
Moufy - Miss Newton
It's an old-school rap ballad, in the thoughtful tradition of Immortal Technique. Moufy is unsigned, 19 years old, and absurdly talented (he also wrote one of the sexiest songs this side of Christmas). Download the free mixtape here.
Monday 4 July 2011
Frank Ocean - Taste
This is so good it hurts. It's off the new Frank Ocean mixtape, which is a whopping 64 tracks long. And free. Download it sharpish, because it's going to blow up.
This is a killer little RnB number, with lyrics to spare, including the best hook I've heard in a while. I love it when singers get all cynical - it cuts straight through the sugar.
This is a killer little RnB number, with lyrics to spare, including the best hook I've heard in a while. I love it when singers get all cynical - it cuts straight through the sugar.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)