Hermitude - Slychain

The best hip-hop group in Australia, Hermitude, will be delivering their third LP, Threads, later this month on Elefant Traks. As a pre-cursor to that highly anticipated release, I have for you today a sneaky glance at one of the new tracks from messrs Luke Dubbs and El Gusto, aka: Hermitude.

Slychain is a chilled out banger encompassing a slightly latin influenced beat, mean synth samples and some tight scratches. There are multiple layers to this beautifully arranged track and it’s the inclusion of subtle samples, like the piano riff and additional percussion and vocals, that really complete it.

mp3: Hermitude - Slychain

2005’s Tales of the Drift, by Hermitude, is still ranked up there as one of my favourite hip-hop albums of all time, and Slychain has certainly got my taste-buds buzzing, definitely looking forward to that one. Threads is out on 27th September on Elefant Traks.

EXCLUSIVE: New Jon Kennedy Material

Today I have something special to share with you exclusively. A brand new track, called I Feel The Weight, from Jon Kennedy’s upcoming new LP, 14, due out this year on the US label Organik Recordings.

14 will be out in the not-so-distant future and will be available on double white vinyl, download and CD. Double white vinyl eh? Very swanky indeed!

mp3: Jon Kennedy - I Feel The Weight

Which ever format you decide to purchase 14 on, going by I Feel The Weight, it will be a wicked downtempo album from one of the UK’s finest. Heavy beats, sweet melodies and a killer bassline - everything we’ve come to love about Jon Kennedy and his marvelous music! Remember, you heard it here first!

VIDEO: The Bamboos - King Of The Rodeo

Recently I featured the new single from The Bamboos, a cover of King Of The Rodeo by Kings Of Leon. Well, here is the fancy new video to accompany said track. Nicely done too! The track features the incredible Megan Washington, and the b-side to the single is a track called Can’t Help Myself featuring Ty. The single is out on 1st September and the new Bamboos LP, Side-Stepper, is out on 5th October.

mp3: The Bamboos - King Of The Rodeo feat. Megan Washington

J.A.M - Jazzy Joint feat. Jose James

J.A.M is a piano trio consisting of three members of Soil & “Pimp” Sessions, and, as the title suggests, this track features the incredible Jose James. Those familiar with Soil & “Pimp” Sessions will be well aware of their japanese death jazz stylings - infinitely less dramatic than the name suggests, although still pretty wild - but the offshoot, J.A.M trio, attacks from a more contemporary angle. Not at the expense of quality though. Refreshing to hear Jose James doing some rap-rap-rapping too - I knew he had it in him!

mp3: J.A.M - Jazzy Joint feat. Jose James

Outside of Japan these guys are associated with Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings label, which is where you’ll also find Jose James plying his trade. Thus far J.A.M have released a vinyl EP for Jazzy Joint and now also their debut LP Just A Maestro. Cant find the Jazzy Joint EP bloody anywhere outside of Japan, so give me a shout if you stumble upon it. Just A Maestro, however, is available on CD via import right now and is definitely worth buying! Should hopefully see some UK releases on Brownswood Recordings before long though, specially seeing as they’ve started to play in Europe, including a recent death jazz event at The Roundhouse featuring The Neil Cowley Trio.

Jon Kennedy - Demons (Chuckie Steel Remix)

Jon Kennedy hit me up with a superb remix of his track Demons. The remix is by Chuckie Steel, a DJ and producer from the South of the UK who is on Jon’s Jon Kennedy Federation label. Chuckie’s remix is absolutely stunning - a real downtempo gem…

mp3: Jon Kennedy - Demons (Chuckie Steel Remix)

If you didn’t already cop Jon Kennedy’s maiden 12″ on his new label… what are you waiting for? If you’re not a vinyl junkie, fear not, the 1s and 0s digital ipod jockey medium is supported too. Anyway, strong sounds coming from the JFK camp, to be expected from an artist of Jon’s calibre no doubt. Enjoy.