Rare & Unreleased…

November 24th, 2006

I’m going to write about two albums I recently purchased that contain “Rare & Unreleased” tracks, but first I need for this FabricLive 24 by Diplo to finish playing, I cant possibly concentrate on Lord Finesse or Foreign Beggars while Diplo’s remix (and splice) of Way More and the acapella of Bucky Done Gun are blasting out of my speakers! So perhaps I’ll start by saying that this FabricLive mix is wicked. Starts on an early nineties electro trip, progresses to Window Licker, touches on Ludacris, moves onto that crazy Brazilian baile funk sound that Diplo loves so much, and ends up with a few rockier tunes and hot dancefloor breaks - a genuinely enjoyable mix that has tonnes of energy. I’m not one of these subscribers, or just people that make a point of getting the latest FabricLive (the fact that this Diplo one came out last year somewhat proves that!), but I listen sporadically and have such issues as; James Lavelle, AIM, DJ Spinbad, and Scratch Perverts. The Diplo one is well worth getting. Anyway, back to the topic at hand…

Last weekend Lord Finesse was in town (Brisbane) with Roc Raida, Q-Unique, and DJ Eclipse. They did an instore at Butter Beats in Brisbane City and plenty of people turned up for the momentous occasion. Finesse himself didn’t seem in the mood for idle chit-chat, Raida came across as one of those quiet-but-pleasant guys, Q-Unique seemed cool enough and Eclipse was a good laugh. I took the opportunity to grab some ’squiggles’ from each of the guys and they were forthcoming in that - I got Lord Finesse to sign my Rare & Unreleased album of his, and I have to say it is a class record. It contains 22 tracks that have been previously unavailable on CD and it touches on all aspects of his work, from the proper old skool stuff, right up to a few r&b productions that he worked on. If anything it gave me a stark reminder that some of this old skool stuff sounds as fresh today as it did way back then!

Ground Floor Featuring Lord Finesse - Dig On That
>> download track (YSI)
>> buy album @ Amazon UK
This download link will expire on 1st December.

The other rare & unreleased album I purchased comes from UK hip-hoppers Foreign Beggars. They recently dropped Bukkake Ski Trip on the Dented label, their compilation of previously unheard tracks, vinyl-only releases, bootlegs, collaborations and remixes, all put together by Foreign Beggars DJ Nonames. There’s plenty of UK talent showcased on the album, not to mention a few other nice surprises, such as Stones Throw’s very own Wildchild on the track Million Skill March. Enough people have previously voiced their opinion that Foreign Beggars are one of the best UK hip-hop acts around, and this album does nothing but re-highlight that fact. For anyone new to the ‘Beggars, this album would be a perfect starting point, an 18 track extravaganza of different sounds that these head-nodding fellas produce. Foreign Beggars manage to finely balance the elements of the UK sound that can so often fall wide of the mark with a heavy emphasis on aggressive, dark vocals and a lack of sound production - their stuff manages to sound gritty, but still showcase tight beats, clever lyrics, and intricate flow. Above all, it really gets your head nodding - two thumbs fresh!

Foreign Beggars - Cold Breeze
>> download track (YSI)
>> buy album @ Dented Records
This download link will expire on 8th December.

I’m currently working on a bumper blog entry (in my mind at least) that will be focusing on the best albums that have been released this year - so if you have any suggestions, give me a shout. I think at the mo my list is bout 20 albums strong.

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Filed under Classic, Info, Links, New Release, Review | Comments (6)

Breakestra @ The Columbian, Brisbane

November 20th, 2006

First off, sorry (sincerely) for the lack of action lately, I think I’m slowly getting into the swing of things with this new job and managing my “me-time” - plus I was reading issue #10 of the incredible Wax Poetics magazine on the train home today, and it really inspired me to get writing again. I don’t want to be rigid and make promises I wont keep, so for now let’s throw out the window all talk of doing certain things on certain days - I’ll just write about what I want and when I can - if that encompasses other peoples’ desires, then great, that is what this blog was always meant to be about. So, as the title suggests, Breakestra played at The Columbian in Brisbane, it was last Wednesday night and I was lucky enough to be there.

Bout a month or so ago I read that Breakestra were coming to Australia. If you are familiar with Breakestra then you’ll know that it didn’t take me more than a millisecond to confirm I would do everything I could to see them. If you aren’t familiar with Breakestra and you like your music with a heavy dose of funk… then consider this your official instruction to check them out with immediate effect. Breakestra are a ten-piece band fronted by a chap named Miles Tackett - they are often labelled an hip-hop orchestra/funk band/soul group, take your pick but I’m sure you get the idea. They’ve been around since 1996 and hale from Los Angeles, California. For the most part of their existence they were a live covers band, reproducing funk and hip-hop classics with style and grace. However, just last year they released their first LP containing entirely original material; Hit The Floor, on Ubiquity Records. The album is unreal, a fusion of ye olde influences and fresh execution. From start to finish it contains what I can only describe as a funky excursion into an orchestrated world lacking in pretension and generously overstocked in the department of exquisite instrumentation. These words not to be taken lightly must surely explain why Breakestra coming to town is nothing but a good thing.

The day of the gig arrived and I had to figure out a way that four of us were going to get back from the city (an hour away from ‘home’) at two in the morning. In the end the best I could do is book a taxi costing $60AUD… “hmmm, more than worth it for Breakestra”, I thought. My companions and I arrived fashionably late by train, catching the last15 minutes of the support act; Neighbourhood Groove Collective, who were from what I heard very good. For the next half hour or so British funk DJ Russ Dewbury kept us all happy on the decks, playing everything from Tru Thoughts‘ finest, right back to the rarer stuff - it was the funky warm up we all wanted. The moment arrived and Breakestra made it to the stage; bassist, lead guitarist, Korg player, saxophonist, trumpet player, bongo hitter, drummer, and soul singer Choklate. In honesty, the next two hours are a blissful blur. I remember being uniquely amazed at individual times with each member of the band - one moment it was Marshall Thompson on the keys, then the next it was James “The Penguin” King on the sax, each taking their turn to amaze the hell out of me. Lead man Miles Tackett is stellar in his role of singer/bass player/bass guitarist and was backed up beautifully by the immensely talented Choklate. One highlight for me was when the band played their album track Family Rap, which usually features Chali 2na, Soup, and Double K, naturally those three fellas weren’t there, so Choklate actually rapped all three parts herself - she did the track proud, really good stuff.

Breakestra - Family Rap (Feat. Chali 2na, Soup And Double K)
>> download track
>> buy album @ Amazon US / Amazon UK
This download link will expire on 4th December.

The two hours Breakestra played were non-stop, seriously not one stoppage in play, and they contained a mixture of improvised covers and their own material - often teasing with a cheeky bar or two of a crowd pleasing funk and/or hip-hop classic - these guys really knew how to play the crowd and their immense collective talent evidently did all the proverbial talking for them. One major thing I noticed was that the atmosphere inside The Columbian was so cool, everyone was relaxed and just concentrating hard on what was unravelling before their very eyes - so much so that people were hardly talking to each other. It felt like a two hour long funkadelic trance that you never wanted to end. When they finally wrapped it up, sweat soaked, they walked off stage and through the crowd to a multitude of appreciative back-slaps… then the claps started for an encore, getting louder and louder as each second passed. Within a few minutes our wish was their command and back up they went. It sincerely felt like those last few tracks were a thank-you from them to us for being such an appreciative crowd, but in all honesty it genuinely felt like we were still immensely indebted to them on that front. The Columbian proved to be a worthy venue, intricately laid out to keep it all feeling small and intimate (in a non-romantic way!), it would be interesting to know what Breakestra themselves thought of the gig, but all I know is that a couple of hundred people left that place feeling a thousand times happier than when they went in, big smiles all around - if you ever get the chance to see Breakestra play live… just do it, you’ll always regret the things you didn’t do, more than you’ll ever regret the things you did do.

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Track of the Week

November 4th, 2006

What can I say about this past week? Well between long days and long train journeys, this blog took the back-seat. But, in the words of Yazz; the only way is up! Just needed to get into the swing of this new routine - I have a track of the week for you though. One track I have been listening to loads recently is Peach, Plum, Pear, from Joanna Newsom’s 2004 album The Milk-Eyed Mender (it’s better than the version found on Walnut Whales) - I just love the track. I think it is the self-confessed harper’s skills at their best. If you aren’t familiar with Joanna Newsom’s work, then I guess you could call it alternative folk with a heavy emphasis on the harp - give this a listen…

Joanna Newsom - Peach, Plum, Pear
>> download track (YouSendIt)
>> buy album @ Amazon US / Amazon UK
This download link will expire on 17th November.

However, Joanna’s new album (Ys) is to drop shortly and I have a track to share with you also. The new album (out on 14th November) contains just five tracks, but the running time is just short of an hour. This new album has seen Joanna work with Van Dyke Parks for the orchestral arrangement, and I have to say it really does sound beautiful. To look back now in hindsight it does seem like a natural progression to take her harp-folk onto a more cinematic level. It may take a few listens to get into Ys, but the time invested pays huge dividends - I think so anyway. Give Cosmia a go…

Joanna Newsom - Cosmia
>> download track (YouSendIt)
>> buy album @ Amazon US / Amazon UK
This download link will expire on 17th November.

I’m thinking that maybe for now I’ll aim to post blog entries on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday - see how I go with that workload. Enjoy the Joanna Newsom tracks and have a great weekend!

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Filed under Info, Links, New Release, Preview, Track of the Week | Comments (3)