Wale - Slight Work

Wale - Slight Work (prod. by Diplo) by diplo on SoundCloud
I don't know Wale very much but I definitely dig his flows. Having Diplo produce this track is also a plus. I'm loving most things this guy has to offer, and loving his taste in collaborators ..so far.

Nicolas Jaar - I Got A

There's something about this slow, soulful groove that's got me hooked. The dark, nocturnal elements, horns, and sedated hip-hop beat remind me of Portishead circa 1995, and that is a good thing. The meandering piano and french monologue seem as if they've accidentally been intercepted as interference signals from afar.

If you are feeling this track, be sure to check out the 2011 album, "Space is Only Noise." This 21-year-old put together a really haunting disc.

Mr. Oizo - "Lambs Anger" Showcase

I first heard "Jo" by Mr. Oizo on the radio while in Berlin. It hooked me, so I did some quick research and realized it came off of a record of his which I didn't have, "Lamb's Anger."

I pondered for a bit which track from this album to feature here on the blog, but eventually realized I couldn't pick just one. Here are a few of my favorites from the record.

Jo


Cut Dick


Steroids Featuring Uffie


Two Takes It Featuring Carmen Castro
It's quite amazing to see how many times Lyn Collin's 1972 hit "Think (About It)" has gone through the sampler by this point. I'm not a big fan of the ubiquity of the hook, but I'm loving the flow and disco-boogie and funky slap bass!

Kano "I'm Ready"

The day I was asked to contribute to the Sound Birdz blog I got an interesting phone call from my dad. (I will be mentioning him a lot here because he is my biggest musical influence.) So apparently, each one of us daughters has a song that he recorded (on a cassette tape) the day that we were born. On this particular day he asked me to help him figure out the name of my song. Most of the call was spent listening to him fast forward and rewind the tape to find the song in question. But it was well worth it and I find it most appropriate for my first post.

My dad waited about 27 years to find out the name of this song and All I did was play the song into an iPhone App for a couple of seconds and voila-"I'm Ready" by Kano! The song that started Italo-Disco and helped pave the way for hip-hop. It's been sampled heavily with it's most notable use being Tag Team's "Whoomp! (There It Is)".

Enjoy!

Gramatik - Lonely And Cold

Gramatik - Lonely & Cold (Original Mix)

Asculta mai multe audio diverse



"This world out here is so lonely and cold. Oh I guess I'll go back home."
Quite a theme for today considering it's suddenly winter again in Berlin and I'm set to go back home in early March.

I really can't get enough of this Gramatik guy, and with three installments of his 2009-present "Street Bangerz" series available, there's plenty of this Slovenian to go around.

Reggie Watts - Fuck Shit Stack

LOOSEWORLD x Waverly Films: Reggie Watts in F_CK SH_T STACK from LOOSEWORLD on Vimeo.

I just found out about Reggie Watts today when I stumbled upon his above video, and was quite intrigued. So I checked out some more videos by him and realized he's got a lot more appeal than just his humor. This comedian / musician is a talented beatboxer whose music is created largely on-the-spot with a loop machine. Reggie is also known for being the frontman of the Seattle group, Maktub. He, however released his first solo album, "Simplified" in 2004. More recently, he put out a vinyl 7" ep titled "Pot Cookies," consisting of two improvised tracks recorded live. Most recent is his latest released "Why S#!+ So Crazy?" a CD/DVD combo featuring live and studio tracks, his hour Comedy Central special, and lots of other video bonus features.

Here is another video for the song "I Just Want To," that showcases his performance method quite well.

Dudley Perkins - Falling (Instrumental)

Listen Here

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I came across this Dudley Perkins (A.K.A. Declaime) track from his 2003 Madlib produced record "A Lil' Light (Instrumentals). It was the middle of fall last year when I first heard it, and it became an anthem for the season - not only for its name, but its ghostly lo-fi twinkling keys and moody string arrangements indicative of the feeling of change of season.

As it turns out, the original song it samples was featured on the recently featured 1972 French library-music record "Stringtronics - Mindbender." Here I've posted the original track "Dawn Mists" by Barry Forgie to compare and enjoy.

Flying Lotus & Declaime - Whole Wide World (Feat. Pattie Blingh)

Declaime (a.k.a. Dudley Perkins) seems to team up with some pretty amazing producers. This 2009 take isn't a bad example, and Pattie Bling's soulful vocals only add to the appeal for me. The "Whole Wide World" EP came with some pretty awesome instrumentals from Flying Lotus, so if you're even halfway as in to instrumental hip-hop as I am, do yourself a favor and check it out.

Valentine's Day

Since its a holiday i thought i'd post something in theme.
Outkast's Happy Valentine's Day is the perfect choice.

Outkast's  SpeakerBoxxx/The Love Below is a classic that constantly gets played semi-regularly.  Best part of this song? It's followed by Spread, guess what that song is about? heh heh heh.

Blackalicious - Brain Washers (Feat. Ben Harper)

Free download here.

I was just about to ask myself why it's been so long since Blackalicious dropped any new material. Just then, I stumbled upon some online jabber proclaiming that the rapper of the duo, Gift of Gab, announced mid last year that a new record is in the works, due for an early 2011 release.

In the meantime, enjoy this 2002 release from Blazing Arrow.