how it should sound

washington dc's soulful beatmaker damu the fudgemunk has a new album out entitled 'how it should sound vol.1 & 2', and as damu himself states in the first track - 'interpret the title how you will'. this is a great instrumental hip-hop record made with little more than an MPC 2000 and a large record collection which harks back to the '90s era of jazz-rap. most of the footage in this promo video was shot by damu's younger brother while 'how it should sound' was being recorded...



more info/buy

traveling man

info and on the new instrumental hip-hop album from oddisee...

"as a musician, life is often lived on the road. each city leaves its imprint on the artist as they develop their craft. touring, recording, and keeping up with friends and family took oddisee beyond his hometown of washington dc to australia, europe, asia, africa, and south america. from cities like east africa’s khartoum in sudan, to cosmopolitan jaunts like paris & tokyo. the influence of these travels can be heard on every one of the 24 tracks included on “traveling man"

each track was produced while oddisee stayed in the city it was titled after. the result is a 24 city sonic tour of the world. listen as oddisee guides you throught his instrumental journed around the globe. visit the lonely winter streets of detroit, festive san francisco, hynotic khartoum - or let your swagger loose with the theme music of chicago or the bounces of south central. oddisee sees the world, so that you can hear it."

listen...

oddisee - san fran

buy on cd/vinyl

i need a dollar

latest single from neo-soul artist aloe blacc who stays true to his soulful influences. look out for the new album out this year called 'good things'.



listen...



visit stonesthrow for free download.

hi-hat club vol. 3 the jazz files

this album comes from german dj & producer dexter and provides some great jazz samples arranged around a contemporary hip-hop beat. this dusty sounding record retains a modern element and even looks forward to the future of the relationship between jazz & hip-hop. quotes and samples are interspersed from interviews and tv shows adding to the narrative of the album.

dagger paths

this 2010 ep from forest swords (one-man project from wirral) is an atmospheric journey where drone guitar meets dubstep-esque rhythms. soulful yet ghostly vocals rise above minimal psych-guitar loops; this record is certainly haunting.

listen...


forest swords - miarches

download...

forest swords - dagger paths (ep) [mediafire] or [megaupload]

ohiana sua efir

this track is lifted from one of the spell-binding soundway compilations. a real bluesy feel to this song with the delicate guitar and heart-felt vocals, yet the african rhythms still shine through. asaase ase (meaning 'underground') was a side project of the great highlife guitarist ebo taylor. as a reaction against the success of bands like wulomei and hedzoleh soundz there was a movement focusing on playing more traditional folk music and for ebo this meant moving away from his background as a big-band musician and arranger towards a more guitar-based, rootsy style with soley local boys in the band and no other professional musicians. ebo explains:

"we started to play music of the sailors, hunters and fishermen in the centre of cape coast where i was born. we played old folk songs that i'd grown up with and heard for years, stripped down with no horns, just traditional percussion, vocals and guitar. 'ohiana sua efir' is the lament of the hunter who never seems to catch anything in his trap but snakes, whilst the richer more successful men go out and set traps in the same place and always come home laden with bush-meat. it's a real african blues number."


listen...



download...

asaase ase - ohiana sua efir (mono version) [mediafire]

the album can be bought here.

blunted in the bombshelter

the 'bomb shelter' is the name given to madlib's basement studio in oxnard, california. trojan records sent much of their catalog over to madlib for the purposes of a mix cd and it was eventually created in the space of an afternoon. this is perfect for a laid-back, dub-soaked, hazy smoking session.

listen...


cornell campbell - girl of my dreams

download...

madlib - blunted in the bombshelter (mix) [mediafire]

dr. no's ethiopium

hip-hop instrumentalist oh no is the younger brother of madlib and is seriously rivaling his sibling's beat-making abilities. as a follow-up to his album 'dr. no's oxperiment', created with turkish and lebanese-psych samples, 'dr. no's ethiopium' is another region-based beat album created using strictly 60's and 70's ethiopium samples.


listen...


oh no - melody mix

download...

oh no - dr. no's ethiopium [mediafire]

odessa

here's a track from caribou's brilliant new album 'swim' which can be ordered here.


listen...



download...

caribou - odessa [mediafire]

we can rap

carleen & the groovers were a 1970's funk band from south carolina. after only releasing a couple of singles during their time and until recently were largely forgotten, we can thank stonesthrow for this wonderful re-issue.


1. Right On
2. The Thing
3. Can We Rap
4. Hot Pants

carleen & the groovers - we can rap (12") [mediafire]