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S*** I’M DIGGING THIS WEEK: (Do You Like Good Music) Sweet Soul Music Edition

19 Aug

If you missed out on the Zo! featuring the Foreign Exchange Soundsystem Sunstorm album release party performance at U Street Music Hall on Sunday night, I understand. The booking seemed strange and not matching what has previously been through the venue. This is typically saved for Liv or Black Cat, so, if you didn’t look hard, you could’ve missed it. A five piece soul band and R & B singers just didn’t make sense for many I’m sure, and journeying into the Temple of Boom for that particular event just didn’t appear to seem to be a solid expenditure of time on a Sunday night. Well, if you weren’t there, you missed easily the most scintillating R & B performance I’ve seen anywhere all year. Between Lorenzo “Zo!” Patterson, Darien Brockington, Monica Blaire, Eric Roberson, Yahzarah and Big Pooh (sadly, the other rapping half of Little Brother, Phonte was not present due to illness), this was a pinnacle event for underground R & B. Eric Roberson channeled late era Live at the London Palladium Marvin Gaye for “This Could Be the Night,” and, in all seriousness, the entire audience would have appreciated a cold shower after the sultry rendition of “Make Luv 2 Me” by Monica Blaire. The Soundsystem themselves were phenomenal, as while the venue is not especially set for live performances, it is set expressly to handle lush sounds, and the velvet tones of the voices present as well as the expert handling of the instrumentation really set apart this show from most any other live concert event I have seen all year.

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A hearty hello and welcome back to emo soul Torontonian crooner Colin Munroe. 2009’s “Piano Lessons” featuring Joell Ortiz would be one of the smoothest releases of 2010, falling right in line with the Drake formula of over expressive parental torment R & B pop. However, timing is everything in music, and Munroe’s rise was a year too early. A classic example of it’s not who opens the door, but who walks through who makes the money, Munroe’s blend of folk, pop, R & B and hip hop breaks set the table perfectly for his fellow Toronto native to take the spotlight. Claiming undisclosed personal issues as his reason for his lack of output in the last year, Munroe returns with a beautiful popppy dubstep (read, popstep) interpretation of Prince’s 1984 hit from “Purple Rain.” Munroe is clearly under skilled and trend hopping in his handling of the sound, but his voice is the real winner here. We all know that English ladies Katy B and La Roux’s Eleanor Jackson are the two best pop voices for the sound. However, Munroe’s empty falsetto with the right production could pierce souls. Given that this is from PURPLE Rain, the PURPLE maestro himself, new Universal Records signee Joker, should give this acapella a whirl and see what he comes up with. One can dream, but it’s quite obvious that Munroe is onto something major here.

A bonus. The majesty of Colin Munroe’s “Piano Lessons”

DUBSTEP DOSSIER: Mensah

10 Jun

Dubstep is coming of age when our appetite for new music exceeds the output of our favorite musicians. As most producers forgo full-length albums for the drip drip drip of singles and EPs, the thirstiest fans seek out new music, carefully distinguishing oasis from mirage.

For fans of Bristol uber-producer Joker, newcomer Mensah appears to be the real thing. His Untitled Future Funk EP contains six heavy slabs of the purple-toned dubstep Joker is known for. Throughout the EP, melodic synth waves cascade over shuffling, two-step beats. Mensah’s toolbox isn’t limited to the staples of the sound, however. On “Rock City,” a grungy, distorted guitar riff collides head-on with a exotic synthlines. For a genre known for aggressive, mosh-pit sounds, the guitar is criminally underutilized by Mensah’s peers.

DUBSTEP DOSSIER: Deadboy

27 May


Meet Deadboy, another Londonite successfully mining the sonic territory between dubstep and UK funky. Over just two EPs, Deadboy is forging ahead with a sound that joins the lush soundscapes of Joker and the pulsing grooves of Geeneus.

Deadboy’s U Cheated EP relies on insistent percussion, warm waves of synth, and vocal house loops. The tracks are infectious and bass heavy – big slabs of dark disco. The broken two-step rhythms of the crunkish “Brock Lee Riddim” and the catchy vocals of the title track come together on “If U Want Me,” a single released last month.

His recently released Cash Antics Vol. 1 continues to push the genre forward, taking mainstream R&B songs and turning them into purple people eaters. Deadboy applies different treatments to two tracks by R&B chanteuse Cassie. “Official Girl” becomes “Unofficial Girl,” leaving the vocals intact but injecting a funky rhythm and sweet and sour synthesizers into the mix. On “Long Way 2 Go,” Deadboy pitchshifts the vocals, drops the tempo, and sprinkles wobble all over the chorus. Different approaches, similarly enticing results.

The highlight of the EP, however, is Deadboy’s take on Ashanti’s “Way That I Love You” which becomes a true dubstep ballad. The original’s descending piano lines are replaced with shimmering chiptune synths, and once again, the vocals are altered to give the song more warmth. The result is moving, melancholy, and powerful. (Forgive the lame graphics on the clip, but don’t miss this track!)

SHIT I’M DIGGING THIS WEEK

12 Apr

aka avant garde musical water cooler conversation.


1. RIP to the godfather of the underground, Malcolm McLaren

Anyone who curates an off kilter underground dance party, uses obscure genre shifting tracks in production, has played or at any point has liked punk rock or hip hop, or, more importantly when you discuss what goes on here, blogs, lost their godfather last week. Malcolm McLaren was more than just a misunderstood impresario. The man merely figured out what made pop music go, and introduced it in vast doses to the underground. I’ll leave room for Denman Anderson’s piece here on Tuesday about the man and his often confounding life and times, but his effect upon just how we view the sounds, presentation and development of underground culture were permanently altered by this man’s impact.

Do enjoy this mix by none other than hip hop legend DJ Premier that takes us through all of those “discovered,” fostered or influenced by McLaren. It’s the best hour you’ll spend today, and check the story at the open of how McLaren met Afrika Bambaataa. Unbelievable and true.


And as well, check the proto hip hop of “Buffalo Gals.” McLaren, as always, a step ahead to the mainstream.



2. T-Pain. Officially a genius?


T-Pain’s a pop machine. His forthcoming release RevolveR would appear to be a club giant in waiting, doing it like Jodeci, in taking it from the Show, to the Afterparty to the Hotel. Not that this is a change in mission for Teddy Penderass, as from the days of “Buy You a Drink” to Grammy winner “Blame It (On the Alcohol)” to strip club anthem “Chopped and Screwed,” his goals are obvious. Take a listen to his two latest, expected pop hit straight out of the Kama Sutra “Reverse Cowgirl,” and his latest Bmore club inspired faux lesbian action related banger, “Kiss Her.” The “Logan de Gaulle” tandem of Clinton Sparks and DJ Snake make no bones about their affiliation with Unruly Records hitmaker DJ Class, and the basslines and synths make that readily obvious. Jay-Z killed autotune, but Teddy Pain brings it back to life with the expected excellent results. Expect the Revolver album to drop in May 2010.

3. Zombie Nation’s “Kernkraft 400”

In the last two years, we’ve seen releases from The Prodigy and Crystal Method, and the recent influx of bottle service electro onto the pop charts has me longing for the non-ironic return of one track: “Kernkraft 400.” The 1999 smash track, by German producer Splank! recording as Zombie Nation, loosely translates as “Nuclear Energy 400,” and is one of the most iconic and combustible sounds of the 2000s. Why else does this track need life again? Dubstep. Zombie Nation’s origin comes from an Commodore 64 game called Lazy Jones, and a track called “Stardust.” Dubstep producers, namely Joker, enjoy using retro gaming elements in their music, providing a sound that is strange, spacey and undoubtedly unique. Also, let’s not forget that the track had a “stadium remix” made for it due to the reaction of people to the instantaneously catchy synth line. Either sampled into hip hop, or as a separate dubstep interpolation, Zombie Nation deserves to live again!

THE DROP: Is Joker the world’s best dubstep producer? A case for yes and why…

27 Mar

http://www.bbc.co.uk/emp/9player.swf?revision=10344_10570

Marcus here. TGRIOnline has had a bit of a love affair with dubstep as of late. The sound has truly evolved, and is all about exploring and setting new sonic boundaries. As always, the UK is at the forefront, and in the mind of this author, Bristol’s 20 year old synesthetic sound machine, Joker, is at the top of the game. With a sound that can only be best described as bass heavy 8-bit soul, the young man, who sees sound as color (namely purple) is setting a new precedent for the sound in taking it in a definitely more R & B friendly direction. Check his above streamed mix (available above, after the cut) from the MistaJam Radio show from the BBC that starts at the 1:32:00 point. As dubstep moves gingerly from its reggae and dub inspired roots, there will be many unfortunate attempts at re-appropriating the sound. However, Joker has been dead on point recently with the inherently dark yet melodic audio landscape of his sonic universe.

UPDATE: Cop the Joker guest mix!

Yes, those initially reading that Tweet may have been concerned, but in this mix, there are his takes on Dead Prez’s “Hip Hop,” as well as mixes of Major Lazer’s “Hold The Line,” and a drop that inspires insanity from MistaJam himself as he hears, yes, elements of Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love” in the mix. Let’s also not forget his new track “Tron,” inspired by this summer’s expected blockbuster with the Daft Punk soundtrack. What does purple sound like when it goes to space?

MIXTAPE REVIEW: LUVSTEP – The Mix That Saved Dubstep Forever

15 Feb

This mix will make everyone fall in love with dubstep. Really. Even you. Yes you.

Philly Brick Bandts Crew leader Dirty South Joe and unheralded midwest born, now East Coast swinging DJ Flufftronix are the two most unlikely candidates to save a genre of electronic music with deep English and Jamaican roots. But it’s 2010, technology has changed everything, and, well, throw in the fact that the duo have ties to Mad Decent Records, and that’s really all you need to know. Mad Decent isn’t at the vanguard of the international underground by accident. Their ability to synthesize and repackage local and cultural dance music trends with alluring and intentionally bizarre packaging makes the label receive heaps of scorn from the blogosphere and music community in general. But what the label has done for Brazil’s baile funk, Baltimore’s club music, Jamaican dancehall, and soon traditional Latino rhythms and freestyle, the label has now done for dubstep. Dirty South Joe and Flufftronix’s Luvstep mix, in so unapologetically embracing the undulating basslines and massive dubplates endemic to the sound, and utilizing specific tracks that highlight the R & B, minimal and drum and bass tendencies of the sound, succeed in making the genre tolerable, entertaining and *gasp* fun.

American dubstep pioneer Starkey opens the mix with a five minute primer explaining the differences between and basically exploring, exploiting and destroying the notion of the heavier dubstep style describing it as “dark and moody.” That “dark and moody” sound is also constantly linked in the past tense, implying it’s dead, gone, and evolved into the smoother more palatable to the mainstream sound on the mix. Dubstep champions Skream, Joker and Caspa’s remixes are here, alongside originals from Starkey and Rusko. The rest of the mix is exemplary as well, as the XX’s mix of “You’ve Got the Love” is here, the most “barely there” dusbstep track of 2009 and an addition that speaks to mainstreaming of the sound for sure.

If a hater of dubstep, or someone not willing to have an opinion on the sound quite yet, you can do no wrong in listening to this for an hour as it’s emotive, evocative, and soulful, and at no point do you feel like there’s a knob twiddling madman attempting to stomp out your soul or melt your face with noise. It’s a fine addition that will add to the longevity and mainstream potential of the sound, and gives it legs in the American mainstream trending underground.

FINAL ANALYSIS: COP / DON’T COP

Looking forward to 2010 profiles…Joker and Dubstep Entering the Urban Mainstream

3 Dec

“Wait’ll they get a load of me!” – Jack Nicholson as The Joker, from 1989’s Batman

Whatever you do, just don’t call it dubstep. Call it goonstep, call it grimestep, call it the sound that will come to define urban radio for the foreseeable future, and call 20 year old British producer Joker the master of it. Joker’s rise to prominence is a wonderful story of the confluence of chance and opportunity. Joker was a UK DJ for a rap crew at 14, and took the opportunity to make beats for them and turned it into a career. He’s apparently shy, and not so much a fan of playing in public. Even further, he’s a fan of video games. If Joker weren’t an internationally renowned producer with his own label at this point, he’d be a poster child for 21st century slackers. But he’s not. Like Motown was almost five decades ago, Joker’s about to become the sound of young America.

Why? Well, his sound makes sense. It’s as if with each progressive addition to the dubstep sound at the base of his composition, he creates a new breed of music fans can appreciate because it combines complelentary and unusually emotive styles extremely well. His productions, by track alone, rather than by the merit of any individual singing on it are already smashes, and with the right singer at the perfect time he will be the first superstar producer of the forthcoming decade. We know this is fact in 2009 because of his work with remixing Gossip’s Beth Ditto on her collaboration with Simian Mobile Disco, “Cruel Intentions.” Ditto, the Rubenesque soul stirring chanteuse becomes Ditto the purring sex kitten with the help of some of the funkiest synths in awhile, which, when aided by a dubstep bassline placed so low in the mix that it is less than overtly perceptible, and an addendum to the style, not the style itself. The track comes off as some smoldering, sexy trunk funk, as if Keith Sweat and Dr. Dre got together at the heights of their careers and made classic material at it’s chorus, with some retro leaning Afrika Bambaataa leaning electro funk at the ephemery. Simply incredible.

http://www.youtube.com/v/Q893Bod17u0&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01

R & B is the look for this young man’s talents. He is enamored with the color purple, and in being synasthetic as well, says he makes music that sounds, well, purple. This might sound insane, but for anyone of a mentality at age 20 where he composes and sees colors with such depth, scope and importance but as to on occasion dress head to toe in that color, well, in this author’s conceptualization of music, this is an intelllect worthy of graduated exposition. To give him a harsh hip hop voice is absolutely expected, and actually makes his compositions no different than anything Western ears may have heard from Rusko or Dizzie Rascal. But Joker? He’s different for sure. He’s already clearly acquainted with melody, and to give him a voice that has yet another melody for him to lay upon the pastiche of familiar sounds he uses, I tend to believe something magnificent will occur.

It agitates me greatly that he was not tapped for Rihanna’s Rated R project. Chase and Status’ work on the album is extremely stark and bleak, some proper face melting to match the mood of the damaged chanteuse, but what of the extreme depths of her soul. That was not explored. In listening to, say, Joker’s track “Digidesign,” it sounds like the emotion that causes romantic action, the internal reaction that is then re-emitted as action. Rather otherwordly of a concept, and, well, for a young woman who was punched, slapped and choked out by a defiant boyfriend, the levels of emotion say, Rihanna on THAT track could have reached is overwhelming to say the least.

http://www.youtube.com/v/zzHOdfSHZgs&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01

Joker is clearly an incredibly intense and insanely insulated youth. With each deepening level of insularity and intense thought, he is somehow unravelling his soul with a bass heavy funk backdrop. There’s something along the levels of Stevie Wonder meeting Issac Hayes with a stop to visit Sun Ra and Miles Davis at play here. And the most amazing point here is that he’s 20, so clearly he has no idea that this is what he is doing, but rather he has merely become a regurgitation of the sounds of his psyche and the sounds of his universe at play. I can only hope that he stays so private. To conclude with a comic book analogy, full exposure and total recognition of this genius doesn’t make him the Joker anymore, it makes him merely a killer without focus. Let’s not get greeen with envy, feel blue, or be red with anger. Music is about to turn purple, and not a second too soon.