Automato, hailing from New York City, consisted of Alex Frankel, Ben Fries, Jesse Levine, Nick Millhiser, Andrew Raposo and Morgan Wiley. This is their debut album that was produced by James Murphy and Tim Goldsworthy of the DFA label. Unfortunately, it was their last too. Would have loved to see what else these guys would…
In the late ’60s, race riots plagued major cities; in Harlem, these events forced educators to think of new and exciting ways to keep kids off the streets and interested in their education. Harlem Youth Opportunities Unlimited (the Har-You Act) was a series of educational programs designed for that purpose. The Harlem Youth Percussion Group…
It’s the one and only Rocker T delivering his concious vibes, in a style that is uniquely his own, on the classic LP, If Yu Luv Luv Show Ya Luv. Crucial addition to your crates. Rocker T – If Yu Luv Luv Show Ya Luv; Positive Sound Massive, 1999
Buenos Aires is the beautiful, intense and seductive capital of Argentina with Tango, as we already know, as its most distinctive sound, the sound realization of the ‘porteño’ spirit. Tango Chill Sessions celebrates this tradition by combining wandering pianos, melancholic bandoneons and guitars with slow electronic percussion, producing an original, sensual, landscape effect. Tango Chill Sessions…
A case of confusion on Soi Baan Dta Bi, Tung Kamin, Kuk Kak, Phang Nga. This is the road outside my house in Phang Nga where I lived for just over two years. It looked like this every day I lived there…except for the last. I returned, from a trip to northern Thailand, to pack…
G.A.M.M. Enterprises Inc. is operated out of Stockholm, Sweden and drops ill fuckin’ beat after ill fuckin’ beat. Check it for yourself.
Strictly Dub is an obscure dub album that briefly surfaced in the early 1980s on the US imprint, Jammys Records, and is rightly regarded as a minor masterpiece of Jammy’s mixing style. Prince Jammy – Strictly Dub; Pressure Sounds, 2010
Rockers features Leroy “Horsemouth” Wallace as a drummer looking to earn extra cash by selling and distributing records to the soundsystems throughout Kingston. Also featured in the film are Dillinger, Big Youth, Burning Spear, Kiddus I, Jacob Miller, Gregory Isaacs, Richard “Dirty Harry” Hall, Robbie Shakespeare, and Harry J’s studio. A classic look into the…
Lovin’ the fact that K’Naan wrote the anthem for the World Cup 2010. I suppose you have heard the hella catchy tune, “Wavin’ Flag”, already from his latest effort, Troubadour, or the rewritten version that has recently come out. If not, you can check it here. I was walking down the street recently here in Thailand and…
Phil Pratt behind di mixing boards serving up delightful cut pon delightful cut. Various Artists – Phil Pratt Thing; Pressure Sounds, 1999
A case of confusion and coincidence in Baan Kun Klang, Chiang Mai. I ventured to the far north of Thailand for a short trip and ended up spending my 30th birthday perched atop Doi Inthanon, the roof of Thailand (2,565 m / 8,415 ft). I stayed at a Hmong homestay on Doi Pui surrounded by…
As Norman Granz had done with Art Tatum 20 years previously, the impresario allowed Joe Pass to sit down and play his songbook. The result was Virtuoso, which included standards and original compositions recorded with acoustic and electric guitars. Virtuoso was the recording to announce that Joe Pass had arrived. Pass had accomplished, using standard…
Mongo Santamaria and the stellar players of his group explode out of your speakers with Latin-jazz rhythms on this record. Mongo Santamaria – Mongo Explodes; Riverside, 1964
When punk began it wasn’t so much a sound as an attitude. Before there was punk the genre — narrowly defined by music that was loud, fast, and snotty — there was punk the movement, where anything rebellious, intelligent, and unpretentious was embraced in the spirit of fun. What mattered was that, in their own…