Obaa Sima
Who else but the Awesome Tapes From Africa is now re-distributing this funkified, lo-fi production, an amazing find made by AFTA label founder Brian Shimkovitz back in 2002. Originally released in Ghana in 1994, the tape and its unique Afrodisco aesthetic went more or less unheard of for a rough 21 years.
Grime Time
Running a rougher regime, straight from the raucous ranks of East London, come UK grime crew Newham Generals, alias Footsie and D Double E. The duo, notoriously signed to Dizzee Rascal’s Dirtee Stank imprint, is still going strong, representing all that grime culture was and is. While the genre today has seemingly faded into oblivion,...
Breakfast with Ringgo
Sunny Sunday mornings call for a breakfast show full of laid-back vintage grooves brought to you by Ringgo alias MNDSGN, his compadres and an apple. Watch them get together in their Los Angeles-based crib to play some easy vibes, hazy jams and explorative grooves in leisurely manner, sure to kick your day off with the...
Weltuntergäng Crew
“We’re just another bunch of apes, locked ourselves in a cage, settled in and let it flow.” Munich & Mainz-based Weltuntergäng-Crew deliver this basement-styled, boombap-flavored rhyme session on Tieftonkultur, to show that German rap is very much alive. Grasime + Kram aus der Ecke push this two-track EP (plus instrumentals) that could be mistaken for...
Rebels On Tape
“Tapes, tapes we love dem tapes! I remember, before the downloading days, we used to go get the CD, dub it on cassette, return it, do it again and again and again and it don’t stop. Tapes, tapes we love dem tapes! Listenin’ to undergroud tapes, whether they be four-track the 16 or the 8.”...
From China With Love
If you are into the deep jazzy realm of high-spirited beats you should listen up or look Far East. Time to clear some headspace with this soothing blend of Chinese produce compiled by Mimm member Mos Isley. Remniscent of an opium den these rhythms go subaquatic. Welcome to the People's Republic of
Brussels Hustles
If Belgium had a coast, this would likely be its score. Wait a minute, Belgium does have a coast, though I’m not sure those dolphins belong there. Whatever the story behind this flavor-laden 4-track stew, GOULASH sure puts the hustle in Brussels. In a light-hearted endeavor Belgian beatmakers NOZA and Barok, DJ Kwistax and MC...
Marble Marvel
As I was busy sifting through all things audible and suitable last week, I received a digital promo pack from Berlin-based record label SKYAPNEA, featuring the young imprint’s sophomore release Marble Planet by Prism Pavillion, aka label head Giovanni Civitenga’s latest side project. Some of you may already be familiar with Gio’s eclectic and inquisitive...
Dirty Tape Beats
Fresh from the paws of now 21-year-old Georgia cub Alexander Aultman, alias Bearhead, comes an album that references the classic mixtape format for all its random glory. D.T.B. features an eclectic blend of styles with beats ranging from gritty to dreamy, building on sample-driven atmospheric instrumentals and layered with multiple melodic effects that play out...
Lyrically Reclined
Resinate? Resonate. Be it beats or bars, Chester Watson flows ambidextrous. Rapping on cruise control, this prodigious 17-year-old has been crowding the airwaves, distributing supervillain-esque rhyme schemes and subliminal instrumentals on a regular. Chester’s velvet-voiced verses come laced with off-key loops that are...
Uncharted Territory
This, my friends, is a whole new monster. Lo and behold, Magdeburg product, DJ, producer and beatsmith Q-Cut literally unleashes the kaiju on his most recent KEATS offering. Curiously entitled “Kaiju Dugu”, Q serves up an abstract arsenal of free-spirited, eerily melodic instrumentals set to your wreak havoc on your inner eye.
Feminine Dimensions
When I first heard Georgia Anne Muldrow's track "Wrong Way", I knew I was on the right way. If there is such a thing. You know what I mean. The track off of Georgia's mindboggling 2006 debut LP "Olesi: Fragments Of An Earth", as the first female artist to sign with Stones Throw Records, struck...