Zebra Katz is one of the most influential presenter of queer hiphop. And I like his world a lot - both musically both visually. You may know Zebra Katz's song Ima Read from 2012. I listened to this track back in the days and I was excited to check his recent music. Unfortunately Zebra Katz hasn't released any LP yet. He has some EPs but these pieces rock.
I collected some of his works in a playlist below. Listening to these tunes is just one part of the enjoyment. You should check the videos too because it is a professional art-commando for your eyes. Designer clothes everywhere, sexuality, and elegant viloence. Every video leads you into a weird world. And this odd universum is so cool, I took some snapshots from his videos, imagine what kind of things could work in Zebra Katz's mind. :)
And the music:
If you like this hiphop, or sometimes trappish, minimalistic techno music (hard to define), follow Zebra on Facebook, Soundcloud (mostly for remixes), and read more about him here.
Long time no write on this blog, sorry for the one-month-long break. I got some other stuff at work, but everything is fine. So now I chose a music which reflect my recent calm state. It is hiphop, and its producer is called Artifakts. He is from Milwaukee (US), and makes cool beats. It is so simple.
If you like my recommendation, just start playing his SoundCloud stream and you won't regret it.
Actually, I have a video project where I used one of his tracks called Best I can. So fucking great and catchy hiphop tune. Even those my friends, who doesn't prefer hiphop said this tune is very fine.
So, first comes the self promotion, check the trailer of my project here :)
But get back to the music! Artifakts just released his EP called Spilled Coffee about 10 days ago.
This is an essential hiphop beat tape. Because of the fact that this is a beat tape, his tracks are very short, just presenting some themes and ideas about music, but I am sure you won't be bored. I mean I just switch this EP on repeat and could listen to it for hours. Wake up uses some samples from a movie I guess and you will know Artifakts is not fucking with you when it comes to music. The Pour is more intensive, while it has this awesome dubbed instrumentals which makes you feel the downtempo too. Fresh Cup is a dreamy tune, and The Spill can fit soundtracks of movies too - it uses some voices but it is distorted so much it sounds like a trumpet, if I am not mistaken. Great idea! Re-Brew is very close to German beatmakers, the clinging piano is a very popular choice, and it works here as well. This is one of my favourite beat, so bad that it is not even two minutes long. Start your day is more suspicious, it reminds me some movies from the 80s with cops: like they are investigating some crime and driving around the city of San Francisco. The Comedown uses Nancy Sinatra's Bang Bang, a very clever usage of this sample.
If you like Artifakts, follow him on social sites (Facebook, SoundCloud) and support him by sharing or buying his music or just go to his gigs if you have any chance.
Prefekt and me were invited in Tilos radio last October - thanks to Zotyka, the host of the show called GoFree. I know that was a long ago but we just found this mix again on the radio's website. So, here is a one-hour-long set, we used vinyl only, you can listen to more funk, less hiphop and some soul tracks. Just enjoy, and you can also download this set here. If you like this kind of funk, tune on Tilos every Friday and listen to Zotyka's funk selection - it is worth it.
DJ Slow in one the most influential hiphop producers in Hungary. His essential beats made Akkezdet Phiai vocals unforgettable for a generation of mine and this May he just put another cool work on the table. This monster album called State of high has 27 tracks, and if you are familiar with beatmakers you know you can get full length - ca. 3 minutes long - tracks and a lot of awesome one-minute-long sample tracks. Of course I won't write of the tracks one by one, I just highlight my favs.
You can listen to fat beats with some Hungarian folk music samples in the first track Worldizmine. Then Pastone part2 is myterious. Biolin is a crazy mix of beats & classical violin (it is a well-known piece, but I'm sorry I don't know who conducted this sample). Go to Juan and you'll get a lobby music of a hotel in Florida from the 80s - nice guitars. :) Fullaza is a high class beat with a groovy bass guitar, while Sand brings you to the sea shore and it can remind you Gramatik's Portoroz in July.
Slow is on the same side in the hiphop area like Suff Daddy and other German hiphop producers at Melting Pot Music. If you liked my blog post about Beat Power or Souleance, you will definetely love this material as well. Unfortunately vinyl edition has not been released... soon I hope fine records will be pressed with some of these tracks because it would really deserve that format. You can download the album for free, or you can buy on cassette too (again, back to the contemporary German hiphop culture! :) )
I listened to Asagayaat the first time in a Jakarta compilation album. Track called Washy P is still one the best tune on this list (besides Ta-ku). So, according to the LP cover of Light Of The Dawn, Asagaya is a Japanese man convinced to be the heir of a cherokee chief and the album tells his story, his travels - his music is chamanism and chaos. Great intro, for me it has too much mannerism but it is okay. We understand that this is very important for the artist - but you'll also get this from his music.
This album was produced by Guts, and it sounds crazy. Something in the way could be a great intro - but it is an outro. It doesn't matter, I will defineteley use this track as an intro in my sets. The album has a lot of great vocals. E.g. awesome and catchy hiphop beats like Suncat, Washy P, Penguin Beach and Women The lyrics are easy to remember - they are not difficult - and it needs some time to make you like them. There are more soulful, funky stuff with trumpets and female vocal: Elusive Delusive, The Nature Creature. Redneck Parade has very intense RJD2 impressions. Armenian Princess is like a western OST, a call for Ennio Morricone fans. In the Mountain of Bliss is a great shaman blues ballade, somewhere next to Captain Beeefheart and Katie Melua.
I like very much this vinyl. It is diverse, hiphop, blues, shamanism, I guess there are more and more music that uses native American motives (e.g. see Romare).
Collaboration shows how much underground music and clothing brands can strengthen each other. Here in Hungary BP Clothing usually do cool stuff with underground musicians. They can get support via clothes, while the clothing brand gains more customers: fans see what their idols wear and want to engage more with their favourites.
So clothing and music give their audience to each other, it is the exchange of publicity.
Previously I wrote a blog post in which you can listen to Ninja Tune's unreleased tracks under the name of Puma Trinomic shoes.
Now it is time for another compilation of a collab by underground label, Soulection and clothing brand called Stüssy. Stüssy was founded in 1980, check their site if you are curious - but I think you may know their hats at least.
About the music: it is future and contemporary instrumental hiphop beats. Some of the artists you may know from Jakarta Records (e.g. IAMNOBODI, Ta-ku). So if you like Jakarta Records and my compilation, you must listen to this Soulection playlist. Cool, fat kick drums, dozens of claps and tinklings. Downtempo feelings from the first sound to the last bars. Click on this pic, listen in peace and download the Stüssy x Soulection compilation for free:
This time I selected my favourite hiphop tracks into a mixtape that I've listened recently. The tracks are free on SoundCloud or on Bandcamp pages, and of course you can download this mixtape as well, if you're so pervert. Most of the artists are German hiphop producers, there is an Austrian guy (Mono:Massive) and you can see some North American guys too (Marco Polo, Kevin Kool). All of them are great beatmakers.
I know, the mixtape collapses twice - I just couldn't keep it in one piece but I hope, you'll like it anyway. Here it is:
Mr Scruff is a genius. Really. And a vinyl lover. These facts made him a VIP of hangolo. :) This year he released his 5th album, Friendly Bacteria at Ninja Tune. I can't say a bad word.
Denis Jones gave his vocal for many tracks: Stereo Breath, Render Me, Thought to the Meaning or in the jazzy Catch Sound. They sound like Mr Oizo asked for Mike Patton to make something new for the audience. Sound unfamiliar, right? But Denis Jones and Mr Scruff nailed it. Btw. Denis Jones's soulful voice is almost as great as Jamie Lidell's (check Jamie here).
I like those instruments that are like the sounds of guns from 70s sci-fi movies. Mr Scruff have a mysterious recipe for making music: he puts an idea in front of you but he did something weird too. And that is just excellent. You feel comfortable listening to his music while he surprises little offbeat solutions. Listen to Render me or Deliverance and you'll get it.
Of course Mr Scruff delivers his wobble stuff too (in What) and he doesn't forget hiphop tradition, for example the song Friendly Bacteria is a fatty, messed-up sci-fi hiphop beat.
If you are more into 2-step/UK garage tempo, you can be satisfied with Come Find Me (feat. Vanessa Freeman). You are welcome, Sir.
Do you remember Max Graef? If you like him, try his Mr Scruff version in Where am I.
Summary: The album Friendly Bacteria is a unique, mature, quite hard-to-digest music but believe me: the more time you devote to listen to it, the more benefit you get. Get the whole album HERE
Today's weather is everything but sunny. Because of autumn - and also thanks to Sunday depression :P - I can't listen to energetic, fast BPM music.
One of my fav funk & hiphop labels is First Word Records. (Here you can listen to those records I ordered from them.) Anyway, these guys celebrated their 10th birthday this year. For this occasion they released a compilation started from the beginning 2003/4. These selected tracks include downtempo sounds (similar to Bonobo, Yonderboi), heavily trumpet-focused afro-funk tracks and light hiphop songs. The compilation starts with slowly tunes and then it gets you in a happier mood - Perfect for this weather!
Unfortunately I can't make playlists on this Bandcamp-based site, so simply click on the picture to listen to all the songs.
I know 2 hours could be too much to spend it with discovering tracks from unknown artists. I put some of them into group of genres so you can choose who fits your mood:
A minap érkezett egy Flying Lotus hírlevél, amiben azt írják, hogy FlyLo csak Londonba jön 2014-ben, ami az európai turnéhelyeket illeti. Mr Ellison előadását két másik előadó is segíti, akik közül az egyik Captain Murphy. Míg Murphy kapitány kilétét először csak találgatták (volt, aki szerint Earl Sweatshirt, vagy Tyler The Creator alteregója), addig egyik élő fellépése során kiderült, hogy a 70-es évekbeli animációs sorozat (Sealab 2020) karakterének nevét felvevő hiphop arc nem más mint Flying Lotus maga (Teljes sztori a Wikipédián.) Egy másik karakter, másik név, másik projekt. Így azért elég poén, hogy a turnéját saját alteregója támogatja. Captain Murphy eddigi főműve a Duality, amihez egy 35 perces film is készült 2012 november végén.
A Dualityben olyan producerek segédkeznek mint a fentebb említett Earl Sweatshirt, Madlib vagy Jemeriah Jae - és van egy bónusz trekk a TNGHT-tal is. Az anyag ingyenesen letölthető erről az oldalról. Deluxe pack a javából, rajta az összes szám, azok instrumentális verziói és egy csomó artwork. Ez egy olyan komplett csomag, ami önmagában megérne vagy 40 dollárt. A mixtape-et kiadták bakeliten is 25 dolcsiért, de a kiadó oldalán már elfogyott. Nem is tudom, hogy baj-e.
A zenék nem egyszerűek, a Wikipedia tökéletesen jellemzi: alternative/psychedelic/experimental hiphop. Lassú ütemek, vészjósló dallamok és ördögi vokálok jellemzik. Ami pedig a hozzá elkészített videót illeti: van benne oldschool pornó, archív szektafilm, igazi tananyag, sick shit!
Rátok bízom hogy előbb a videót nézitek-e meg, vagy a zenének ugrotok neki.
Max Graef már volt a blogon, akkor egy maratoni Bolier Room délutánon vállalt egy órás szettet. Nemrégiben pedig megjelentette első saját LP-jét Rivers of the Red Planet néven. Ahogy az album címe is mondja: a Vörös bolgyó folyóin csordogálunk, ez az album tényleg egy zenei sci-fi.
Ha egyszer leszálltál ezen a planétán és megszoktad az atmoszférát, akkor nehéz lesz hazaindulni.
Az űrhajóba a borítóra klikkelve lehet beszállni:
Már az album a második számánál (Itzehoe) megérkezik az a zongoraközpontűság, amit korábban a német hiphop producereknél felhoztam itt a blogon. Itt is érezhető, hogy egy kultúra, hasonló hatások érték Max Graefet mint a Beat Power válogatáslemezen hallható előadókat. Max Graef albumán laza beatek, szférikus hangulatú space visszhangok, lüktető dobok és meghatározhatatlan messzeségből hallható vokálok sorakoznak. Hiphop beatek (Intro, Superswiss, Ohne Erdung, Medley for Drifters), kicsit tempósabb, house felé hajló dalok (Itzehoe, Drums of Death, Vino Rosetto), space funk (Buchsenoffner) és még más nehezen besorolható dalok, de egy közös: mindegyik hátradőlésre és a Vörös bolygó folyóin való ereszkedésre késztet - csak semmi rafting.
Úgy gondoltam, dobok egy adag magyar hip-hopot. Azokat a Zunderground zenéket, amik közül mára már sok nem is olyan alternatív. Megnéztem az eddigi anyagokat és úgy döntöttem, hogy minden előadótól csak kettő dalt választok, mert máskülönben tényleg elszabadulna a magyar rímpokol. Az egyes előadók számai között sok átjárás van, én igyekeztem olyanokat választani, amelyekben nem segítenek egymásnak, de persze sokukat láncreakcióban ismertem meg.
Zebra Katz is one of the most influential presenter of queer hiphop. And I like his world a lot - both musically both visually. You may know Zebra Katz's song Ima Read from 2012. I listened to this track back in the days and I was excited to check his recent music. Unfortunately Zebra Katz hasn't released any LP yet. He has some EPs but these pieces rock.
