PODCAST: Jus Like Music Volume 26
Volume 26 of the Jus Like Music Podcast has literally just dropped! A wide selection of the finest tracks that have been encroaching on JLM ears recently. Mostly new tracks with a pinch of classic or overlooked. All class, either way.
I was under the impression that if you read this blog, then you knew about the podcast. But apparently not! Even though I put the details of the podcast in the sidebar and on its own page, it still goes unnoticed by some. Hence I thought it would be a wise idea to make a blog post with each new podcast - so no excuses, slackers, get it downloaded!
Volume 26 tracklisting:
1. TM Juke and The Jack Baker Trio - Spread It On feat. Alice Russell
2. Hint - Afro Love Forest (Feat. Kinny)
3. Flying Lotus - Rickshaw
4. Super Smoky Soul - Geek Beat (Hud Mo Re.Twirk)
5. Roots Manuva - I’m A New Man
6. SonnyJim - Stack Ps feat. Orifice, English and Smoke Darg
7. The Bamboos - Can’t Help Myself Featuring Ty
8. The Natural Yogurt Band - Chit Chat
9. Hypnotic Brass Ensemble - Birthday
10. Amy Winehouse - You’re Wondering Now
11. Emiliana Torrini - Me And Armini
12. Kutiman - No Reason For You
13. Lizzy Parks - All That
14. El Michels Affair - This Songs For You
15. The Neil Cowley Trio - Clumsy Couple
16. J.A.M - Jazzy Joint Ft. Jose James
A lovely spread, I’m sure you’ll agree. We’ve got tracks from the new TM Juke and The Jack Baker Trio LP (due to drop 8th September on Tru Thoughts), Rickshaw from the Flying Lotus LA EP 1 X 3 (out now on Warp), exclusive new track I’m A New Man by Roots Manuva (from his forthcoming Slime & Reason LP out 1st September on Big Dada) and also Can’t Help Myself by The Bamboos featuring Ty (which is the B-side to the King Of The Rodeo 7″ out on Tru Thoughts).
mp3: Roots Manuva - I’m A New Man
Also big props to Hint for a banger of an album with the recently released Driven From Distraction on Tru Thoughts. Speaking of Tru Thoughts (which I do quite often!) Lizzy Parks‘ LP, Raise The Roof, is due out on 22nd September. You might recognise her modern jazz stylings from previous work with Nostalgia 77, but Lizzy is here in full effect with her first full release on Tru Thoughts.
Like the podcast? Tell a freakin’ friend or two!
Daedelus - Love To Make Music To
Thought I’d give it a minute to digest around this wonderful musical society we live in before finally divulging my words on Love To Make Music To by Daedelus. And now that minute has passed. Daedelus‘ third full LP on Ninja Tune dropped the other month and did, as predicted, cause a bit of a stir. But… for all the right reasons. You can buy it right now on both double vinyl LP, download and also CD.
Daedelus has long been known for his wonky electro-romantic ways, but it’s worth noting (for the newer fans at least) that Alfred Darlington (born Alfred Weisberg-Roberts) is a classically trained multi-instrumentalist and master of many genres. He was spinning and creating jungle and breakcore tracks back in the day and also has his roots in the West Coast hip-hop circles, collaborating over the years with such artists as MF DOOM, Lil Sci (aka John Robinson), Busdriver, Cyne and Prefuse 73. His stock is strong.
Something I have always admired about Daedelus is his ability to turn his hand to, seemingly, any genre. But it’s never a novelty act. Daedelus’ creations have a certain flair and panache that allow the most anti listeners to connect with the music. Sounds that you may otherwise turn your nose up all of a sudden become masterful electronic compositions that leave you feeling immersed in a sonic world where everything sounds Daedelus and everything sounds good.
Love To Make Music To picks up where Denies The Days Demise left off. But this a continued musical evolution in the forever changing soundscape that is the life of Alfred Darlington. At 15 tracks long, this LP is a healthy feast of aural treats, spanning 55 minutes of electronic bliss. Remember folks; components make tracks, but journeys make albums - so let the journey begin…
Tracklisting:
01. Fair Weather Friends
02. Make It So feat. Michael Johnson
03. Twist The Kids feat. N’fa
04. Get Off Your Hihats
05. Hrs:Mins:Secs
06. Touchtone feat. Paperboy & Taz
07. I Car(ry) Us
08. I Took Two
09. My Beau feat. Erika Rose & Paperboy
10. You’re The One feat. Om’mas Keith
11. Assembly Lines
12. Drummery Jam
13. Only For The Heartstrings
14. Bass In It feat. Taz
15. If We Should feat. Laura Darlington
The proceedings start with Fair Weather Friends, a skewed yet catchy synth laden melody accompanied by a double hand clap led drum break. It’s an uplifting affair that builds and builds - for a better idea, check out the video:
Straight after that is Make It So featuring Michael Johnson. A steady beat and cymbal crashes are paired with 80s pop style electronic sounds and the smooth, yet ever so slightly haunting, vocals. Definitely a track for the summer - only the production techniques of Daedelus could make you nod that head and tap that foot to what is essentially a glitchy electro pop song. Oh, and there is a video to this one too:
The album then takes a grittier turn with the heavy Twist The Kids featuring N’Fa from Australia. Get Off Your HiHats somehow manages to make me enjoy what is basically a house a track of sorts, whilst Hrs:Mins:Secs finds great success in blending an old skool rave/near-on-gabba sound with hip-hop beats - absolute madness, so Daedelus.
Touchstone is a wicked, dark electro hip-hop track featuring Paperboy & Taz, a very addictive track that encompasses a mean break indeed. I Car(ry) Us then brings the album back to the airy romantic scape that Daedelus is so famous for - with elements of electronic organ and Balearic guitar strokes, this intricate composition holds its arrangement with both procession and organised confusion. Frankly, for what it is, it’s quite exquisite. But I Took Two drags us back down to the dark depths with its eerie electronic melody and vocal samples. Another fine example of using 90s dance stylings and refreshing them right up to the present date, it couldn’t sound more relevant if it tried.
My Beau, unlike the version initially released on the Fair Weather Friends EP, features additional vocals by Paperboy as well as Erika Rose and there is just something about this track that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. There is a miami bass vibe in there as well as rnb elements - when it plays… I cant sit still. You’re The One is a tripped out airy hip-hop track featuring the smooth vocals of Om’mas Keith, whilst Assembly Lines is a straight up sound clash between clockwork toys and backwards fair ground aural debris featuring some piercing vocals of a rather unique sounding siren - not entirely sure I’ve heard anything worthy of direct comparison as far as style goes.
The back end of Love To Make Music To begins with Drummery Jam, which is a mash up of sounds and beats that would certainly catch the ear of someone like Cut Chemist. Only For The Heartstrings is a track that wouldn’t have been out of place on the aforementioned Denies The Days Demise LP - if you can sit back and allow yourself to be consumed by the sounds, you’ll no doubt love this complex and beautiful composition, with it’s intricate layers and precise execution. Bass In It is a head nodding hip-hop trance featuring Taz on the mic and then If We Should acts as an outro to the LP, featuring vocals from none other than Daedelus’ wife Laura Darlington - it starts off sounding like something from an early Prodigy track, then the strings come in and the track breaks down into a gorgeous melodic broken beat track that really sets the tone as an outro. An appropriate ending to an eclectic blend of electronic songs that constantly takes you from high to low and all the avenues in between.
Love To Make Music To is certainly different. But ‘different’ isn’t a word anybody should be scared of or shy away from. More than ever it is different music that is becoming not only relevant, but actually essential in the modern market. Even if people don’t necessarily realise it at first, I think that generally a lot are craving ‘different’. Nothing is black and white anymore - I can barely classify artists into genres, but that is a positive thing - especially when the execution can be so perfect. How can I fault the influences of gabba, rave, house and such if it sounds so right? This LP is most definitely a sound clash of styles, but it has the Daedelus trademark all over it and I for one have fallen in love with it.
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!
R.I.P. Isaac Hayes
R.I.P. Isaac Hayes. Born in August 1942, Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr. was a soul legend. In modern culture he will be remembered for his soundtrack to the iconic blaxploitation movie, Shaft, and also his long running part as the voice of Chef in the TV show South Park. Isaac was found unconscious in his home on Sunday 10th August, he died at the age of 65, currently the cause of death is unknown, although no evidence of foul play has been found.
Isaac Hayes was indeed the voice of Chef, and he was indeed the guy responsible for the theme to Shaft, but to know his music is to know the real Isaac Hayes. See this as a bit of a roll-call, but Isaac Hayes was responsible for creations such as; Stax Records, Booker T. & the MGs, numerous re-works of classic Bacharach songs, duets with Dionne Warwick, work with Millie Jackson and also a lot of acting work. This is just the tip of the iceberg. He worked in the entertainment industry for a long time!
mp3: Isaac Hayes - Early Sunday Morning
Hayes is survived by his wife, and also 12 children, 14 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
VIDEO: Cut Chemist - (My 1st) Big Break
New video for the Cut Chemist track (My 1st) Big Break, taken from his 2006 debut LP The Audience’s Listening. Cut Chemist gave us one of the best LPs of 2006 and now you get to enjoy the first music video ever shot entirely with a 360 degree panoramic lens - created by the crew at Eyestorm Productions.
mp3: Cut Chemist - (My 1st) Big Break
