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

send me your love

the latest lp from french beat maker onra is released on all city records who have been killing it of late despite being in the perhaps suprising location of northern ireland - not normally the place you associate with experimental contemporary hip-hop. the miami-vice artwork sets the scene for a refreshing blend of '80s electro and '90s hip-hop. the parisian has emersed himself into a distinct new avenue of sound, a break away from the more chopped-up dusty vinyl sound of 'chinioseries'. you can hear elements of prince or vandross, but at the same time its forward-thinking irony keeps the record instep with the likes of flying lotus or hudson mohawke. this blend of electro-soul suitable for the disco floor takes you right back to '80s miami. buy the album here.


onra - send me your love

quanny sitar

dr. quandary, a boston-based producer, uses psychedelic samples while introducing dusty hip-hop breaks. his first record 'quanny sitar' is a tribute to india, mixing folk traditions with mid-70s bollywood soundtracks. download the record for free courtesy of bandcamp.

1958 jazz drumming

a short clip of jazz drumming from 1958 with gene krupa, lionel hampton and chico hamilton.

the gin diaries

latest release from german beat-maker suff daddy, 'the gin diaries', is a real treat for fans of soulful hip-hop. collaborations with the likes of miles bonny, fleur earth, mariama, and jim dunloop produce a similar neo-soul feel to that created by erykah badu's latest record. 'the gin diaries' has been described as a beat novel consisting of 13 musical short stories providing snapshots of the producer's life.


listen...

suff daddy - konnopke

suff daddy - feelin' fly (feat. mariama)

the album can be bought here

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