The Black Seeds-Sometimes Enough

The Black Seeds are a reggae band from New Zealand. I discovered them about 6 years or so ago by chance when I turned to the "World" music show on a local college station. Since then I never have heard anything from them, or even have met anyone who knows of them really, even though they're one of the biggest acts in NZ. Thus, I want to share the cult love of this group. They're absolutely amazing and their sound is so refreshing and chill to hear.

Before I let y'all click, I think its important to understand how difficult how hard it was to pick one Black Seeds song for y'all to sample. All their beats are good stuff. And though they expand beyond the reggae roots repetoire, they follow in the tradition's deep and inspirational lyricism. I absolutely love their Keep on Pushing and Into the Dojo efforts (the latter of which this song is off of). But the Keep on Pushing LP was so popular that it spawned a "Pushed" remix album, where there are remixes of the songs on the Keep on Pushing album. I encourage you to listen to that if you can find it. If not you're more then welcome to ask me about it. But below is the single to the Into the Dojo album. I know you'll love it.

-Ashley

Holly Miranda - Joints

Today I offer you a really amazing live performance of Holly Miranda and Marques Toliver. Over the last couple months, after binging on huge basses, synths, and crazy electronic noises, I've grown pretty nostalgic for some more natural sounds. Maybe natural isn't the right word...but just sounds that are all around us, or can be produced without having to plug in. So, when I saw this video, I just about threw my laptop over my head in excitement and made a mess of myself a couple times. This is the middle section of Miranda and Toliver's performance.

There are a lot of things I love about this video. The song itself is really tragic, and rings a very deep cord in my gut. The filming is pretty well done. The sound of strings on wood. The streets of NY. The use of space and utilizing its affects on the substance of the music. It's all very dreamy and wonderful.

Van Hunt-Outta the Sky

The three things I love in music: are hip hop beats, indie lyrics and R&B soul. It's amazing when all three of these things happen at once. And this happens in the music of Van Hunt.
It's really hard to choose one song from this guy, and I suggest that you guys try to listen to as much stuff from this man as possible (a relatively simple task since he is only working on his 4th album to date). But this song has been on repeat for about two weeks now and I want you guys to check it out. It's amazing stuff.




Download:
http://www.mediafire.com/?umzznzmjoot

Fashawn - Freedom \\ Exile

Fashawn is a artist from Fresno, California, and one of the young upstarts in the world of rappers. I don't really know too much about rap, but he's a pretty sick lyricist. Exile produced some slick beats for Fashawn's debut album, Boy Meets World. Kick back, bob your head, listen, get out there, and do something.



Little clip I picked up of Exile showing off on the drum machine.

Nosaj Thing

Please use some good speakers (not your laptop speakers) or headphones for the music on this post. You'll miss a lot otherwise.

Today I offer you an introduction to one of my favorite artists. Nosaj Thing, a current revolutionary in the world of electronic music. If you ever get a chance to see his performance, his work on the drum machine will blow your mind. He is the most refreshing thing I have personally experienced in the world of music in a long time, probably since I stumbled on Nujabes way back when Samurai Champloo was first released. Little funny detail, Nujabes = Jun Seba backwards and Nosaj = Jason backwards. Just something i giggle about happily. =]

I am not going to drop anything off his debut album, Drift, because I really think it should be heard as a whole. So if you want to hear the work on his album, ask me for a copy, or go get it. Here's a little taste of his body of work, and what he has already inspired. He does an amazing job of painting an audio landscape. The aesthete in me wants to make babies with his music.

couple songs he produced for a couple experimental rappers.




Here's the beat from man on the moon, with a short film inspired by it.


His live performance will seriously blow your mind. This is a little sample of his visual shows. Give it a minute at least.


For those interested, he is doing a show at Club 828 in Asheville on the 26th of this month, with Daedalus and Jogger. It's only 10 bucks when you buy your tickets in advanced. =]

VERSUSVersus - Eterno Resplandor De Una Mente Sin Recuerdos

Been a while since I have addressed screamo/hardcore, and not very long since I have stumbled to some really sick dance-punk. This track by VERSUSVersus from Mexico, formerly Andromeda vs Icarus, starts off with a fucking groovy riff, which had me wondering 10 seconds in, alright...this is too exciting really early...is this really going to go anywhere? and pretty immediately, the screams and drums come in. if you don't feel like jumping around, throwing you head around, and go nuts, i'm sorry. The rest of the song has all kinds of other surprises, right until the end. WOOH!

Download:
VERSUSVersus - Eterno Resplandor De Una Mente Sin Recuerdos

VERSUSVersus - OPS

Snowden - Anti-Anti (Treasure Fingers Remix)

Today's featured dance track features an old tune by Snowden, an experimental rock group based in Brooklyn, remixed by Treasure Fingers, from Brooklyn and Atlanta, GA.

The original is pretty amazing itself, just a feel good, i-don't-give-a-fuck-i'm-going-to-enjoy-myself track. Treasure fingers does a great job of retaining that 'feel good' substance, and adds some electric grinds and tasty glitches that get you all wet and jittery. =D

Both these guys are worth checking out. Looks like Snowden is putting out an album soon and Treasure Fingers is still leaving his print on some sweet tracks. I left a couple other samples of their other work.

Downloads:
Snowden - Anti-Anti (Treasure Fingers Remix)


Snowden - Happy Christmas (War Is Over)
(a gloomy track off their latest LP, free on their myspace.)


Treasure Fingers - Cross The Dancefloor