Short Hiatus

We'll be back after finals.

Mixtape 9 - 2010-04-09

Gateway - Back-Woods Song
Gateway (1976)

Elliot: From the first recording by Gateway, a trio with John Abercrombie on guitar, Dave Holland on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums. I love the groove on this tune, composed by Dave Holland.

nuito - NeKoMaJiN vs
Unutella (2009)

Sidd: It's a beautiful mesh of harmony and discord, but these Japanese musicians definitely know what they're doing. At times the schizophrenic guitars may seem claustrophobic, but it only makes the ethereal parts so much more beautiful. I just ran into this band, but you can bet I will be listening to more of these guys.

Masta Ace - Hold U
Disposable Arts (2001)

Neil: Masta Ace, the most underappreciated member of Marley Marl's legendary Juice Crew, opens the new millenium with an ambitious concept album about a prestigious hip hop university, the Institute of Disposable Arts. This track features Jean Grae, one of the most talented female MCs in the game.

Extreme - Cupid's Dead
III Sides To Every Story (1992)

Nabil: Sure their name is terrible, but Extreme is one of the few bands of its genre and one of the few bands that isn't jazz that I've been listening as of late. Forming in 1985, they've created a genre mainly focused on hard rock, but incorporating subtle elements of funk and metal to create music that sounds a lot more recent. If for nothing else, listen to it for the guitar and bass solo (this may just be the bassist in me speaking, but it's...EXTREME).

Modill - Change Form! (feat. Diverse)
Midnight Green (2006)

Chris: Modill is a seriously underexposed duo from Chicago, consisting of producer K-Kruz and mc Racecar. Here they are joined by the very talented Diverse. I'll be honest, their verses never seem to travel in a straight line and most of the time I have absolutely no idea what they are talking about. But as always, the music speaks for itself-- Midnight Green is full of great production and great flows.

Mushroom with Eddie Gale - I Was Torn Down at the Dance Place - Shaved Head at the Organ
Joint Happening (2007)

Tony: An awesome, lengthy 20 minute jam session from Eddie Gale from the Sun Ra Arkestra and the jazzy, kraut-rockers of Mushroom. Previously, I had only known of Mushroom as a prog-rock band from the 70's, but they have transformed their sound while still keeping the psychedelic feel of their origins.

Mixtape 8 - 2010-04-02

Happy April, all -- and welcome Nabil to the team. We have a great mixtape this week, as always.

Charles Mingus - II B.S.
Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus (1963)

Nabil: Despite the fact that he is one of the true fathers of the bass (and one of Pastorius's main influences), Charles Mingus still remains widely unappreciated. II B.S., more commonly known as the Haitian Fight Song, is off his 1963 album Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus and sounds like it is years ahead of its time, featuring Mingus's always catchy yet technical basslines and your standard set of saxophones and muted brass*.
*The horns were always great because if they weren't...Mingus beat the crap out of them (seriously).

The Slew - You Turn Me Cold
100% (2009)

Chris: Most of the themes on this album were previously sketched out on Kid Koala's mixtape "Your Mom's Favorite DJ," on which he playfully bounced rock samples off of each other with turntablist flair. So imagine my excitement when I found out that Kid Koala created a project to flesh out these themes into a full album! Turntablism is a dying scene but there is still unexplored territory, as shown by the Slew.

Lee Morgan - Cornbread
Cornbread (1965)

Elliot: The first few weeks of spring always put me in a Hard Bop kind of mood. They overplay Lee Morgan to death on my local radio station, but I'm on spring break right now and it was nice to hear familiar tunes like this one while cruising around town, so I thought I'd share. Lee Morgan on trumpet, Hank Mobley on tenor sax, Jackie McLean on alto sax, Herbie Hancock on piano, Larry Ridley on bass, Billy Higgins on drums.

Ephel Duath - Hole IV
Pain Remixes The Known (2007)

Sidd: Coming from Italian masterminds Ephel Duath, this album is actually a remix [by Eraldo Bernocchio] of their "Pain Necessary To Know" album [which is equally amazing and much different]. The grooves on this song are so tight you can't help but "get yo' groove on". Apart from the tasty grooves, the combination of metal + electronic music is done amazingly [if not perfectly] on this song, and this entire album. Enjoy.

Reflection Eternal - Expansion Outro/For Women
Train of Thought (2000)

Neil: Since we were talking about seeing Kweli I figured I might as well put a Nina Simone song up.

Nobody - Green Means
Soulmates (2000)

Tony: Nobody's intense, atmospheric style is hypnotic with reverb drenched, spacey samples. Though I'm not a bigger fan of his later works, this album is a must have for any fans of Shadow, Krush, et cetera.