Downtempo Canada » HipHop

Lazer Sword [b.e.a.r.]

Dewey dB — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 01:15:35 +0000

In the heart of the mission district in SF; behind the cogs & gears of XLR8R, their web techie and licensing guru, is Bryant Rutledge {aka LL [Low Limit, Lowest Layer?]}. If we recuse one level deeper; behind Bryant Rutledge’s nine to five facade is half of the music genius of Lazer Sword. The other half being Antaeus Roy [aka Lando Kal]. Throw in Ghosts on Tape and you’ll get what peeps have been callin the Fort Knocks crew.

Lando and LL have been workin’ hard, and will be droppin’ their first release on B.E.A.R. records. They also have a tune coming out soon on a B.E.A.R. compilation. Their live show is what I would like to hear more often in the future of live glitch hop performers. Anyone can beatmatch and mix, but these guys take it to the next level. Everything they do live is 100% improvised, an all-out remix-the-fuck-out-of-everything type of affair. You never know to expect when you hear them rock the party, ’cause they don’t even know either. Think improvisational jazz circa 2010, only with dope drum machines, synths, and laptops instead of sax, bass cello, and a drum kit. They’ve blown up the spot with the likes of the glitch mob, flying lotus, mstrkrft, the cool kids, chromatics, kid 606, trackademicks, ghislain poirier, white girl lust & others…Seriously, you’re so not ready for these tunes:

LL – WHERE U BEEN 7.0 (MELTDOWN DELUXE)
Lazer Sword- $TREET $COOBY
I GET MONEY (LAZER SWORD NEON HOT POCKETS REMIX)

Ooah [The Glitch Mob / Muti Music / Alphapup]

Dewey dB — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 08:33:17 +0000

Ok, I’ll just come right out and admit it, I’m obsessed with the glitch mob and everything glitch mob, for fuck sakes I even have a glitch mob sticker on my laptop that I cherish almost more than the laptop itself. I’m tempted to say that Ooah [Joshua Mayer] is one of the most well rounded members of the Glitch Mob, at least in terms of talents. And damm, look at him, that man is sexy! (click the image for a bigger one….droool)

Ooah is a seriously amazing turntablist. Listen to some of his older mixes, and you’ll be spoiled with delightful scratching, beat juggling and mixing [do i really need to mention mixing, i mean isn't that part of the definition of a mix? I guess it depends you could be really hot on noisecore "mix" tapes]. Seriously, what ever happened to turntablism? It’s like ever since Q-bert destroyed the DMCs for a couple years in a row its been kind of a dying art. I’m sure I’m going to get heckled for saying that. I mean, don’t get me wrong here, but turntablism used to be so much more intigrated into an [electronic music] DJ’s set than it is these days. I guess turntablists have been replaced by ableton live dj’s with their armory of VSTs like buffer override, or at least this is what has happened to Ooah.

Besides being a member of the glitch mob, Josh is also one half of the Seedling Escape duo (see below for their promo mix). The other half being Kitty D, another member of the glitch mob. Ooah has a slew of mixes (complete list below) hidden on the otherwise useless glitch mob website [edit - well i guess you could be a fanboy like me and stare at their logo while you masturbate to glitch hop].
Ooah released Hacksaw and Tubstomper on Alpha Pup’s sub label Glitch Mob Unlimited. You can buy those tracks from addictech here and here. He also released Stomp The Yard on a Muti Music compilation I talked about recently, you can buy that track here. And finally the only other tune I’m aware that he’s somewhat officially released is contained within a mix, so i don’t really consider it as counting as a full release of the track. The tune, Tuesday Again, was released as track 4 on the Devil in Detail mix cd which came out on Interchill Records on Sept 27th, 2007. You can order that CD here. Although this mix cd is tight, I can’t wait for a proper release of this track for my own greedy mixing purposes, and well because its mental!
Biggup Ooah, you got nothin’ but love commin’ from me.

Mixes:
The Seedling Escape Mix
Scientific Sound
Dub(step)
Ooah Days
Ghetto Fabulous
Tastes Like Vinyl

Tunes:

Oh and just in case you weren’t already overwhelmed with good music, heres one last mix: Local Area Network
This CD was given out the last night after three nights of incredible STS9 performances @ Red Rocks and the Ogden in Denver. It was distributed at the Cervante’s Masterpiece Ballroom after party on September 8th, the bill included Ooah, edIT and Boreta of Glitch Mob and Bassnectar.

1. Ooah “Tuesday Again” (Interchill Records)
2. edIT “Straight Heat” (Alpha Pup Records)
3. Boreta & Eprom “The Good, The Bad, The Squishy” (Unreleased)
4. Dr Dre & Snoop Dogg “The Next Episode” (Kraddy Remix Instrumental) (Refiner Records)/Mr. Vegas “Under Mi Sensi” (Acapella)
5. edIT “The Sirens” (Alpha Pup Records)
6. Boreta & Eprom “Psyphy feat. Mc Epcot” (Unreleased)
7. Ooah “Stomp The Yard” (Muti Music)
8. Lupe Fiasco “I Gotcha” (Kraddy Remix) (Refiner Records)
9. Boreta “Lobegrinder” (Glitch Mob Unlimited)
10. The Grouch “Artsy (edIT Remix)” (Alpha Pup)
11. Clipse “Mr. Me Too (a.k.a. Jalapeno Body Poppers) (Ooah Remix)” (Unreleased)
12. BlackStar “Bright As The Stars (a.k.a. Mos Beautiful) (Kraddy Remix)” (Refiner Records)
*Mix by DJ Yogurt, MC Rev

SofaLofa – Pickled Think (Deep Water)

Dewey dB — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 06:02:23 +0000

This is one of my favourite downtempo record lables, and one of the best EP’s i’ve ever heard. only 4 tracks, but every single one is on point.
“The Sofa Buoy’s first release for Deep-Water marries the lushest dreamscapes with equal measures of breaks and glitches. The release is the labels deepest foray into electronica to date, with producer Chris Cousin confidently steering his tracks toward the melodic and the atmospheric. The EP caters for the discerning disco with the up-for-it ‘Pump da Ball’ and loafs on that deep-sea sofa bed with ‘Struth Ruth’. Hint is rising high now that Ninja Tunes have snapped him up and his brace of limited edition 10” singles are hot property. The Old-skool pastoral downbeat king digs his teeth in to the quirky neck of ‘Counts the Accular’ with his synth-ed out and Minatuar-esque remix…essential stuff for all Hint-heads”

Aphilas – Instrumentally Ill EP (Merck)

Dewey dB — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 06:01:35 +0000

Something a bit different from Merck, the debut 7-track EP from latest signing Aphilas displaying an organic, multi-layered knack with instrumental hip hop and clever samples – all softly destined for the downtempo. Opening cut ‘Lifelong Fiction’ is gorgeous – the beats skipping effortlessly around a melange of strings, flutes, clarinets, the odd mandolin and loose vocal caresses – lovely cinematic styles painted blue. “That’s Just What It’s For” and “Collective Memory Loss” are much more Machine Drum induced, complete with more cut-ups and spannered arrangements, but head for the magnificent “Dubbed Coil of Smoke” on the flip for a smokey display of tight beats and midnight sparkling Rhodes keys, slightly reminiscent of Dj Shadow’s best, but with a different set of rules at its disposal. Very limited as per usual, some copies coming on purple/grey marble effect vinyl. Lovely.
Download for free from archive.org!

Edit – Crying Over Pros For No Reason (Planet Mu)

Dewey dB — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 05:59:17 +0000

Edward Ma from Los Angeles is edIT. “Ed Ma’s first album as edIT features tracks that have been painstakingly sequenced, hiphop that takes glitchiness to the extreme. The style of the album takes cues from Prefuse 73, but taken to another level. Yet it is not really the tricky programming that really pops out at you – it’s the soulfulness and smoothness with which each track is glued together from extremely small snippets of sound. The opener features an electric piano first noodling then exploding into a shower of digital particles, it’s all put together with the ear of an expert artist. Guitars peek around the edge of many of the pieces, and there is homage to both underground beats and more g-oriented swissbeatz styles going on. Perhaps the album’s only shortcoming is its relentless pace of all things digital and beautiful, that can be almost too much to bear. Crying over pros for no reason is emotional, instrumental hiphop at its finest – looking forward with its digital edge but also beating with a warm analog heart.”

Deceptikon – Lost Subject (Merck)

Dewey dB — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 05:57:34 +0000

Lost Subject is the chilled out debut of a Portland based producer Deceptikon. Creating smooth jazzy downtempo beats, his music is evocative and atmospheric, equally drawing upon hip hop and jazz elements for his gorgeously produced carefully crafted grooves. Utilising numerous techniques, yet regularly arriving at a similar funky location, Deceptikon effortlessly creates the kind of highly composed beat orientated instrumental hip hop pieces championed in recent times by Ninja Tune via the likes of Sixtoo or Blockhead. Whilst not necessarily pushing the sonic envelope, Deceptikon is peerless in his ability to get a groove on, though he is at his best on cuts like /treeghost/ where he doesn’t rely solely on the beats, utilising acoustic guitar and synthesizer to create an intimate sense of longing. Composed over the last few years, Lost Subject is a journey that fits perfectly into the lounge room – funky basslines, crackling trip hop beats and lush gentle atmospheres that act as a relaxing tonic to all the stressors of daily life.

Nobody – And Everything Else (Plug Research)

Dewey dB — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 05:55:58 +0000

This album finds Nobody (aka Elvin Estela) in transition and in regression, building on psychedelic themes apparent in his last album, yet revisiting his hip-hop roots as heard on hisdebut Soulmates (2000, Ubiquity Records). Nobody once again teams upwith Mystic Chords of Memory (Chris Gunst of Beachwood Sparks and JenCohen of the Aisler’s Set) and Farmer Dave Scher (Beachwood Sparks) who delivered the standout track on Pacific Drift, a beat heavy cover of theMonkees’ “Porpoise Song.” This time, they jump 30 years to cover one ofNobody’s favorite 90’s anthems, The Flaming Lips’ “What is the Light?“

Deceptikon Live from Oregon & More Web Tracks (Merck)

Dewey dB — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 05:55:15 +0000

I just stumbled upon a great live set recorded by Percussion Lab: “we are proud to feature this live set by M3rck recording artist, Deceptikon. His blend of raw hip hop with smooth instrumental loops has been keeping us here at Percussion Lab entertained for the past week. Zack Wright aka Deceptikon has been making electronic music for quite a few years, and signed with Merck Records (based out of Miami, Florida) in 2002. His debut 12″ release, “Lost Subject,” went out of print only four months after it was released. His first full-length album, also titled “Lost Subject”, was released on Merck in May of this year. A native of the Pacific Northwest, Deceptikon has played many shows in Oregon, Washington, and New York City over the last few years “
Download the mix from here!
Also If you’re a big Deceptikon fan, you should note that he’s also got a few new tracks out floating on the internet:
Deceptikon – Cut & Revision A short sample from a comp on Refinery Records
Deceptikon – Defenestration (beta) Beat of the Week on Complex Players Club
Deceptikon – Ashes of Shanghai unreleased bonus mp3 on Merck.