We don’t bring up hip-hip too much around here. Not sure if ya’ll (i.e. Billy Corgan) consider that a good or a bad thing. But one common thread throughout all the musical bases covered here is a good dose of hauntology. Where short-wave enthusiasts on labels like Ghost Box re-contextualize the past into un-filmed-film scores, L.A. producer Oh No creates hypothetical worlds and collaborations that bridge decades and countries. So I think it’s time to start budgeting some real estate for cerebral hip-hop here at TDT. Not to mention, listening to Dilla’s Donuts for the first time all the way through was easily one of the most psychedelic listening experiences I can recall. Anyways-
Hot on the trail of rap’s left-field/late-night hero and older brother Madlib (a.k.a. Otis Jackson), Oh No is constantly finding ways to challenge himself within the family business. Last year’s Dr. No’s Oxperiment focused it’s excavation almost entirely on Turkish and Lebanese psychedelic rock (which included the “Heavy”-hitter track that you know from all those Skate 2 commercials). His newest expedition makes a B-line down the Red Sea towards the fabled Ethiopia for the aptly titled Dr. No’s Ethiopium, coming out on Stones Throw this fall.
Regional funk, jazz, folk, soul, and psych are all surgically arraigned into ecstatic moments of diverse technique and style. His careful attention to sample texture, cut and spliced in origami fashion, produce banger after banger on this collection. Still a devoted hobbyist at heart, Oh No is securing a parallel reputation as one of underground hip-hop’s most innovative producers.
Dr. No’s Ethiopium is available for digital download on Stones Throw now, and will be available in CD and vinyl format this November.
For Fans Of: Madlib, J Dilla, Guilty Simpson, Edan, Blueprint
MP3 :::
Oh No – The Pain
Oh No – Melody Mix
Ahoy, the holiest of holies there – the Boss SP-303 sampler. So you kinda know what’s comin’…
There’s been a cheeky debate going on with the serious (I Guess I’m Floating) and not so serious (Hipster Runoff) blogs about what to call the burst of sample-based, lightly acid-tinged pop music that exploded with Panda Bear’s Person Pitch and continues with strong work from Lotus Plaza, City Center, et al. I like sampsycore. It’s sort of German in its mindset – make a new word out of three existing ones. So I’ll throw that in the ring. Chillbrocore is good too, though. Anyway, I’m glad Nathaniel at the aforementioned IGIF introduced me to psychedelic pop bro Happy Family, because his new Sound Farm EP helps keep the brain limber.
Happy Family exudes a thick, hazy, classic 4AD vibe by way of Cocteau Twins, with fuuuuunk. That is to say, Happy Family’s songwriting tendencies and general sonic timbre fall somewhere between dub and freak folk, which are two rather disperate genres. Hombre pulls it off well. In addition, the one-man Baltimore-based project also concocts a well-balanced blend of shoegaze, kraut, and 8mm-washed swells of ambience. I tend not to like music with heavy, pervasive beats, but Happy Family’s scratchy, syrupy rhythm section is decidedly distinct and unusual, is somewhat reminiscent of Koushik’s or Forest Swords’ fine astral trips. Recommended.
Happy Family is all up on MySpazz.
For fans of: City Center, Cocteau Twins, Forest Swords, Koushik
MP3 :::
Happy Family – Mindless Pleasures
If the preview of Sun Awar’s latest joint gave you a tingling in the solar plexus, then you’ve gotta hear what Forest Swords are bringing to the table (besides weed). From what one could ascertain from the few songs we’ve heard thus far, Forest Swords do not fake the funk and very much keep their shit extraterrestrial.
“Red Rocks Fogg” showcases heavy, mystic, syrupy dub pipped through fuzz pedals. “Down Steps” takes it one step further, introducing the trip as a sparse reverberated soundscape a la Ambient-era Aphex Twin, then organically builds the celestial grime into an ultra low-end groove so nasty that your face crunches up a bit and you expel a gasp of “daaaang, that’s nasty.” The title track from their forthcoming cassette-only debut Miarches comes correct with acid-damaged minor key pop sensibility, samples resembling some sort of outer space communique picked up by SETI, and actual vocals – giving the song a sort of space dub reinterpretation of early Indian Jewelry.
Forest Swords are sick. Be on the lookout for more from them. Miarches is available for preorder courtesy of Leftist Nautical Antiques.
For fans of: Pocahaunted, Growing, Religious Knives, Scratch Perry
MP3 :::
Forest Swords – Miarches
Forest Swords – Red Rocks Fogg
Forest Swords – Down Steps
