Top Cellar Jazz
Rooted heavily in jazz and bathed in a hip hop hue, I’ve literally spent hours immersed in the sounds of Richmond, Virginian multinstumentalist DJ Harrison‘s mindstretching ColorJazzMixtape, including this brilliant tip of the hat to Georgia Anne Muldrow. Niftily arranged and versatilely performed by Harrison’s trio, alias himself on drums, bass and keys, his music...
99 Problems (but this track ain’t one)
Opposites attract, but do they? Isn’t it more about emphasizing the common grounds in what is essentially opposed? Leave it to Stuttgart-based DJ and producer Konstantin Sibold to discover that magical link in the chain, bringing Jay-Z to the stage with Minnie Riperton, if only for a few minutes. A veritable match made in paradise...
Kaleidoscope This
Talk about clearing some headspace. Step aside, sip on this and let Haitian-born producer, DJ and beatmaker extraordinaire Kaytranada‘s latest elixir work its magic. This one’s different. Breaking with his claim to fame, futuristic r&b patterns, K goes the extra mile on young Toronto trio BADBADNOTGOOD‘s “Kaleidoscope“, taking an already great tune, sampling its ever...
Reverberation Radio
Don’t judge a book by its cover, or so they say. I’m not sure if the same applies to records, but I dare say the artwork is exactly what drew me to Allah-Las and their self-entitled 2012 debut album in the first place. Sometimes you just have to trust the voice in your head going...
Slumber Session with SKALPEL
Back from a 10 year hiatus, since their self-entitled 2004 debut release on Ninja Tune, Polish nu-jazz outfit Skalpel is set to take the stage and continue spreading good vibes. Following the release of their latest album “Transit“, now on their very own imprint PlugAudio, they dress and serve up this brilliant mix for i-D‘s...
Dem Run Things
So you want to run with the big dogs, run the streets, run the jewels, huh? Run the what? Maybe you simply didn’t know you had this in you. Tell me about it. Initially, I guess I just wasn’t ready for the raw power and progressive approach brought to the table by these two lyrically...
Live from Wonkabeats
Not only was this apparently recorded on my 30th birthday, it’s also a really cool find that absolutely made my day. “Live! From Wonkabeats Vol.1” is a spotaneously recorded basement freestyle session, featuring the lyrical artistry of Flex Mathews with his Deer Park water over some randomly selected, previously unreleased, dope beats by Washingtonian producer...
Man or MYTH
Somewhere along the lines of man versus machine comes this mythical synergy of man and machine, aka the collaborative effort by Manchester-born wordsmith Mad Brains and his wingman Srabi Machine of Ça Sonne Bien. The two friends recently hit the studio to record this experimental 7-track banger, featuring a heady brand of futuristic beats by...
Hush children, what’s that sound?
This little musical playing field of mine has been a long time coming. Needless to say, writing these first few lines feels pretty good. Lately I’ve been feeling a need to produce again, if only to share the sounds that move me and to try and put those everyday sensations into words. So here goes…...