"brooklyn flower is a privately commissioned project in conjunction with slice-of-spice records, and redef records.
the title track is a reworking of the ramsey lewis and minnie ripperton versions of the charles ttepney classic, 'les fleur'. the intention of this track and project is a dedication for the birth of my daughter. these samples, and others deemed relevant, were referenced to damu the fudgemunk, when the project was first commissioned in late 2009, and as expected he produced something quite extraordinary and sublime. this is not a track he created for himself, or intended for commercial release."
onra gave an interesting interview on his use of far eastern samples for the 'chinoseries' record in the wake of its follow-up due for release this year. he talks about the influence of both french and vietnamese cultures on his music, providing an insight into the creation of such a unique sound.
"echoing the style of guru’s jazzmatazz, jazz vocalist and multi grammy nominee nnenna freelonjoin hip-hop quartet the beast torelease 'freedom suite', a 10-track collection of creative reflections on jazz and hip-hop hosted by 9th wonder.
drawing from a traditional jazz canon as well as hip-hop “standards” from the recent past, the album brings a live jazz sound to some of the most loved tracks in popular music. the album features six original songs written and produced by the beast and also re-makings of modern classics such as mos def’s “umi says,” johnny mercer & hoagy carmichael’s “skylark,” and lauryn hill’s “doo wop”. the project has guest appearances from branford marsalis, phonte (of the foreign exhchange/little brother), yahzarah and geechi suede (of camp lo).
recognizing the importance of talking about the convergence of jazz and hip-hop and its role in forward-thinking culture, the album also features conversations among some of hip-hop and jazz’s greatest intellectual minds including ?uestlove, herbie hancock, amiri baraka, branford marsalis, angela davis and more."
"the minute you catch the striking, psychedelic artwork of theo ellsworth you know you're in for a treat. the insatiable, electrifying talent of flying lotus is back to treat us again. high concept beat-science is again order of the day, frazzled with invention, propelled by myriad time signatures and colour burst, cosmic-electronics. it's been noted before but flylo is slowly unravelling as the natural hip-hop heir to sun ra, a maverick oneness with sonic art is his, sit back and jump in."
'clive tanaka y su orquesta' release 'jet set siempre 1°' with a dense electronic sound and a miami vice edge. split into two halfs, 'for dance' and 'for romance', we can hear the two different personailities break away but intimacy remains throughout.
"the gaslamp killer, AKA william bensussen, is a peculiar entity. on the one hand, he's an artist that refuses to be bound by convention or accepted practice. on the other, he's an obsessive perfectionist. while the L.A. beat scene within which he operates has been around for several years now, its musical parameters have not been completely set. there's no time signature to work within, no rules regarding melody and harmony, and definitely no constraints when it comes to rhythm.
'fun over 100' kicks the EP off and is testament to that. it's downtempo and, unlike the rest of the package, doesn't purport to have been built around dusty analogue sampling. "when i'm in awe" follows, calling up san diego-based vocalist gonjasufi to sing out-of-tune lyrics over a kick-less excursion into psychedelic rock, with bensussen blending digital bass with vintage strings, which results in an eerie three-minute loop.
it's with the arrival of 'carpool dummy' that bensussen's skills behind the boards really shine. the drums are programmed to perfection, but daring at the same time. unlike other members of the brainfeeder clique—lorn, daedelus and even flying lotus, for example — bensussen frequently departs from the conventions of melody. sometimes, it seems, he just wants you to bang your head. the rhythms crafted from sampled breaks on 'carpool dummy' are superb. they're looped, looped and looped again, and while some would call that lazy, in the hands of bensussen they're superb, as every few bars brings a slight shift in the snare arrangement.
'shatering inner journeys' and 'monsterfromtheundergound' close out the release. on the former, fellow L.A. resident computer jay provides guest synths over a shifting snare and hi-hat loop. the latter is the EP's shortest and most relentless, making use of a distorted midrange and up-tempo pace, closing out a solid and adventurous release."
teebs is a producer and visual artist signed to brainfeeder and his debut album 'ardour' is out pretty soon. lead single from the record 'why like this?' can be downloaded here.
"here it is. our first very own beatcompilation. when we started this about a year ago, living together in the same building, sharing the same passion for music, we were passing on links of the stuff we found online. it´s a bit like digging for wax - a lot of crap but then at the end of the box you find a beautiful piece of music. so the next step was to share what you find on an bigger platform. while browsing the web and selecting everyday what stuff is worth promoting, we meet artists who catch our attention. we just want more of their music. we invented this compilation as fans and asked our favorite underground producers to contribute. we´re happy to deliver you a selection of mainly unreleased beats. get your mp3-player ready and let us know what you think.
we thank all artists for contributing and making this happen. for more information about the artists, click his track and check his info-section!
