tunnel vision (miles bonny refix)

miles bonny, known for his hip-hop and soul productions, develops the track 'tunnel vision' from the latest lp by the roots 'how i got over'. miles bonny has an lp coming out late summer called 'lumberjack soul'.

the different 'hey joe'

the track below is taken from the legendary 'time and place' by lee moses. lee moses is a kind of mystery figure in soul music relatively unknown to mainstream audiences. he was one of several artists (including the ohio players, hermon hitson, gloria barnes, bobby brown and freddie terrell) to work with johnny brantley (known as a mover and a shaker on the new york soul scene) during the late 60s and early 70s. 'time and place' is by no means just a soul record, however, with a strong presence of heavy funk/psych-guitar throughout the album. despite the bulk of lee moses' work being produced in new york or new jersey, he was originally from atlanta, explaining the roots of the gospel and bluesy aspect to his singing style. his voice has such a natural rawness, a wounded-like quality that pulls your heartstrings. 'hey joe' is certainly a gritty and passionate cover, somehow managing to successfully combine funk/psych/blues into this 6 minute jam.

lee moses - hey joe

beat bbq

"on may 23rd we celebrated the art of beatmaking at friedenspark, cologne together with 700 likeminded music lovers. upmyalley and MPM say thank you with a free tape with unreleased beats from suff daddy, dexter, powell, twit one, adlib, moo, hubert daviz and tobrock. download the tape for free and check robert's photos."

the one (feat. T3 from slum village)

here's the new video for the upcoming single 'the one' from onra's 'long distance' LP.

jyoti (ocotea)

jyoti is georgia anne muldrow's jazz persona. the name derives from the sanscript word for 'light' and is also the name given to her by family friend and jazz great alice coltrane. this alias is used by muldrow for her jazz-inspired works when taking a break from her soul/hip-hop hybrid sound with non-comformative production and song structures. the album 'ocotea' is clearly influenced by late 1960s/early 1970s avant-garde and electronic jazz. this sound is modernised and makes for an intriguing release, a half-hour instrumental journey lead by her ancestral orchestra and guided by experimental synthesizers. it will be interesting to see how the jyoti project develops over the future, you can buy the debut here.


jyoti - black mother

a town called obsolete

this is the second single to feature on the forthcoming debut album from andreya triana, which is produced by bonobo and due for release this august. sign-up to the andreya triana newsletter here to get a free download of 'lost where i belong (flying lotus preview edit)'.

"'a town called obsolete' is an obliquely upbeat and heartfelt plea for patience and faith in the face of indifference. triana's voice is perfect for this mixture of longing and hope, smokey, beautiful and tonally perfect. bonobo, meanwhile, hooks up dusty break-drumming, thrumming electric bass and a horn part that peaks at just the right times. it's another example of the understated brilliance and emotional weight that the pair have packed into triana's debut."

crooks & lovers

the mount kimbie album is finally here. at the forefront of the so-called 'post-dubstep' sound (more atmospheric, less 'wonky', less dance-floor orientated, and perhaps more intelligent) that has been growing over the past couple of years, mount kimbie have enjoyed critical success so far with a couple of EPs. 'crooks & lovers' drifts across genre boundaries, touching upon elements of dubstep and hip-hop, you can hear flickers of post-rock and even jazz whilst also being heavily rooted in ambient and electronic sounds. the use/sampling of real instruments such as acoustic guitar gives the album a connection to the non-electronic realm, and the delicate chopping and layering of the vocal samples could be likened to the techniques pioneered on the last burial and four tet albums. some have noted that the record can feel quite restrained at times, for me, however, its beauty derives from what could be more suitably described as a refined nature. it does not feel cluttered, over-complicated, or wasteful, but actually quite creative and extremely infectious. the album is released on july 19th on hotflush records and can be bought here.


mount kimbie - would know

ain't nothing gonna change me

currently loving this track from the all female soul quartet the sweet inspirations. members have included cissy houston (whitney houston's mother), dionne warwick, dee dee warwick, and doris troy, all of which have had successful solo careers despite the sweet inspirations being predominantly known as a backing group for 60s rhythm & blues artists. the original group was in high demand by producers, artists, and songwriters for their backing vocals, leading to contributions on records for wilson pickett, solomon burke, and aretha franklin to name but a few. much of their material was originally released on atlantic records with a strong gospel influence coming through their earlier work. their name originated when atlantic records producer jerry wexler turned to cissy and told her he had an inspiration, to which she replied, "oh, sweet!".


the sweet inspirations - ain't nothing gonna change me

maker vs. now again

the latest beatsmith to delve into the funk and soul of the now-again records catalog is maker from the chicago area. previous effort from oh no was a resounding success, up there with some of my favourite instrumental hip-hop albums, so the next instalment in the 'music-library' series had been eagerly awaited. maker definitely puts his own stamp on these samples with golden-era dusty drum breaks and two-bar loops. there is more of an old school hip-hop feel to this release in the series, perhaps even a more normative framework in which the producer builds around. those of you residing in the U.S. have the opportunity to grab yourself one of the CDs which were limited to 1000 copies here.


maker - the love we have

good things

aloe blacc is a soul singer/rapper/musican and is fluent in spanish, it's beginning to seem like there's not much this guy can't do. his fanbase has been steadily growing since 1995 when he collaborated with hip-hop producer exile and became something of a 'stow away' on the lootpack tour of europe in the late 1990s. his public profile was significantly raised after HBO decided at the 11th hour to use the lead single from his sophomore album for the opening credits to their show 'how to make it in america". the track "i need a dollar" is reminiscent of a 70s soul number with its urgent piano and haunting vocals, originally derived at a time when blacc was listening to old field recordings of black convicts from the south working on chain gangs. the first rough recording of the track was made with his friends back in 2007 sitting in their front room stomping on the wooden floor and clapping their hands, much like a kind of spiritual you could find yourself singing in church.

there is an absence of rapping on the new record, with blacc concentrating on the delivery, and in particular the emotional aspect of his soulful voice. production comes from truth & soul at the soul fire studios in williamsburg, some might remember their remix of dinah washington's 'cry me a river'. the retrospective track 'good things' starts off quite relaxed with a funky guitar riff bubbling under the surface, the introduction of brass acts as a catalyst in bringing this song to life, and the backing vocals create a sweet soul harmony that seems to be so rare in modern music. 'you make me smile' is nothing short of a delight, 'politician' features a heavier presense of funky horn licks, 'if i' is a delicate number where blacc's vocal talent really shines, and tracks 'momma hold my hand' and 'green lights' pay homage to traditional rhythm & blues. 'hey brother' has a crazy psychedelic groove and 'miss fortune' highlights a broader musical influence of reggae.

this record addresses current social and political issues, commenting on unemployment, homelessness, the unsustainable use of natural resources, and the pitfalls of capatalism. thought-provoking and decisively mature lyrics contribute to a growing musical character in which blacc strives for positive social change. 'good things' places aloe blacc at the forefront of modern soul, head and shoulders above many of his contemporaries, emphasising social consciousness and inducing compassion.

improv jam session snippet

here's a glimpse of a jam session with beatmaker afta-1 and friends filmed at mcf studio in downtown pomona. tune in every sunday to watch the jam sessions live with samplers, turntables, synths/keys, vocals and drums at ustream. afta-1's long awaited album 'forms', which is "intended to provide audible healing", is also now available to buy here.

secondhand sureshots

"secondhand sureshots is a filmed experiment in creative sound recycling. dublab directors bryan “morpho” younce & mark "frosty" mcneill sent beatmakers daedelus, nobody, j.rocc and ras g on safari into L.A. thrift stores with orders to make new music out of five finds while the cameras filmed the whole process. the result is a mini-documentary about putting new life into old vinyl. over 2 hours of footage, music & bonus material.

the deluxe super set is a true sound and vision experiment. dublab scoured southern california and rescued 500 gatefold LP covers from dusty thrift store bin obscurity. our graphic friends at hit+run took the covers and screen-printed them by hand, making new visual masterpieces to house the first public release of secondhand sureshots. stuffed in this package is all-exclusive material sampled and shredded into new forms fine-tuned to blow your mind. we hope it inspires you to make your own creative gems and jams!"

full details/buy/podcast

come on back

brothers of soul were a trio consisting of fred bridges, richard knight, and bobby eaton. hailing from detroit, their music was characterised by motown-esque harmonies and a rich, funky beat. below you can find one of their gems from what was a short and often overlooked career.


brothers of soul - come on back