STREAMING // (Track) King Krule – “SUBLUNARY DEMO”
Listen Here – SoundCloud
“original demo i done did for the OOZ’ sublunary theme, maybe drop some more demos and unreleased junk from the process, but this here to mark the year’s public existence of das OOZ.
peace n love
Archy”
Classic Day – Wake Up London
With the incoming wave of explosive and volatile music that was about to burst onto the scene in the late 1970’s, among them was Ian Dury. A cascading tank that would not let a simple, life-altering disease of Polio take him off the stage. With his 1977 release, New Boots and Panties!!, Dury was a juggernaut that became a sensation with his clever wordplay, entertaining factors on stage, and the sheer ability behind his backing band.
New Boots and Panties!! is a definitive musical album that opens with the beautiful touches and graces of piano chords that reflect some of the sun shining Zen gardens, only to then brush a new leaf of a funky, bass-ridden adventure. “Wake up and Make Love with Me” is a graceful track that borderlines on the shoulder-shrugging, dance heavy movement through the London streets in the cool, midnight hours. “If I look so self-possessed, oh please disturb my rest. It’s so lovely when I’m sleeping, but wide awake is best” Dury describes through a slightly sleepy, less than fully rested gaze that quickly becomes an energetic blast of howls and screams.
With Davey Payne on saxophone, Chas Jankel on guitars and keyboards, Norman Watt-Roy on the bass, and Charley Charles on the drums. The band seems to be the muse behind Dury as he clambers along to the poetic and almost elegant selections of sounds. There is also Edward Speight on the ballad guitar which makes face on a mix of “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll” and “Clevor Trever”. Then the final staff of personnel comes with Geoff Castle who performs on the synthesizer and does a fantastic job of creating this key mix with Jankel.
As Dury starts to move throughout New Boots and Panties!!, he creates a whirlwind within the record that is impossible to miss. His charisma behind the microphone and sudden attraction to the English dialect that he sports like a derby hat or his union jack grill, there is something incredibly British and grasping by Dury. He continues to lay the ground work and with the following tracks of “Billericay Dickie” that sound as a broken fair carousel that takes a turn through the promiscuous fields of Dury. Hearing the innuendos and stylish courtship is one of the highlights of the record and continues to some of the later portions where Dury is his firmest.
The final track, “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll” is exactly what the title entails. Dury is a monument, rocking a laid back release of verses that works over a jazz and steel drum mix that collaborates in this strange mix of styles and sounds to create a solid finale. The way that the piano shines, the percussion jams along, the way Dury swings, and ultimately the synthesizers create one last glimpse into the wild and tantric experience that is New Boots and Panties!!.
Listen To New Boots and Panties!! Here!!! – Spotify/Amazon/iTunes
Misc. Day – Rap’s Appetizers
In an age where musical creativity has never been at such a height; to see the youth creating and discovering their own sound while simultaneously being able to capture a guided approach to what was once a guild and impenetrable. The music industry as a whole has never seen this level of intriguing outsiders who were once never exposed to a musical background and now seeing platinum records.
Tierra Whack is one of the first artists that have ever released an album with exact cuts of one-minute tracks, to form a fifteen-minute (do the math) record release that spreads itself thin and comes out as more of a performance art piece than a record that will be continually played again and again. Whack World is a record that spans like flipping through the television during late nights, there are tracks that work well within the short run-time, leaving the listener in a daze and almost always wanting more.
And that is almost the problem within Whack World; Whack moves quickly and can showcase true effort behind her tracks, but the incredibly layered tracks are spread thin across a board of sudden jump cuts. With catchy tracks of “Hungry Hippo” or “Silly Sam” that have glistening production and a beautiful delivery, it makes a design for an overarching and repeatable journey. With the short run time however, as soon as “Hungry Hippo” gets started, it ends and each piece works more as interludes that are sewn together.
Miraculously, the fifteen-minutes are surprisingly fun to dance along to as the consistent shifts keep the listener on their toes. Whack World was one of the first records that questions the typical hook-sixteen-hook styles of rap music and pushes the strangest conglomerate and mixes to work together.
Tierra Whack has some true talent behind this sound, and it is ironically her own; unfortunately Whack World is not long enough to keep the replayablity in the end. Whack World is actually the perfect album to DJ at a party or an event however as you could let the record play all the way through and it will continue to change itself.
Creating something new and different is such an important task in the oversaturated world of music, music journalism, and music creation. Tierra Whack is one of the first artists to push incredibly short tracks, one-minute to be exact under the magnifying glass with cheerful production, intense wordplay, and one of the more engaging releases of the year.
Listen To Whack World Here!!! – Youtube/Spotify/Amazon/iTunes
New Music – From The Mud
Sheck Wes took over stadiums and charmed hearts with his single “Mo Bamba” that was a basement Soundcloud hit through the summer and in turn quickly moved into a radio hit. Under the guise of Travis Scott and some other influential partners, Wes has quickly established a name for himself as a standing monument as a commander in hip-hop music.
With the initial singles that dropped from Wes, it was easy to see the approach that the Harlem born-and-raised artist would use. Almost like a maniacal Sun Tzu, MUDBOY shatters the backboard and the expectations for Wes, allowing for full, creative distance from the normality’s of a debut record. He is loud, abrasive, and ultimately one of the first fire starters that open for Playboi Carti, which is where Sheck Wes made his first contact in a live setting. He was able to conquer the microphone even with his short list of tracks and ultimately found success in the way that he could keep all eyes on him. Even as he would rap until he was out of breath; Wes proved that this was a young man’s game and everyone would have to watch.
MUDBOY is a similar instance that works in his favor to keep the attention on him and even as the singles are the best part of the album from “Mo Bamba”, “Live Sheck Wes” or “Chippi Chippi”; there are still reasons to come back to the record. With booming tracks that use the 808 bass to the manipulation of the audience with “Gmail” or “Kyrie” to the more brake-driven, more humanistic tracks like “Never Lost”, “Danimals”, and “Vetements Socks”. Harlem never seemed so clean as the epicenter of most iconic rappers, Sheck Wes should be proud to be added to the list but there are some shortcomings of MUDBOY as well.
There are no features which from a fan of Sheck Wes this is perfect, it allows the attention to be entirely on Wes without any disruption. This is also one of the problems however as Sheck Wes does not have this amazing scale of adaptability that can work to fill an entire album. It feels consistent throughout and with little variation besides the occasional haltered jam here and there. For the most part, MUDBOY is a quick, straightforward arrow that strikes in a painless sort of way. It does not challenge the listener or create this moments of awe-inspiring wonder though.
Instead, Sheck Wes is a thankful addition to the booming bass hits and screams of the style of rap today. He is not reaching even close to his peak and that is exciting to see where his career can lead to. As of today however, MUDBOY is a slug fest of fantastic and energetic fun that does not last too long or drag. It could use a feature or two though.
Listen To MUDBOY Here!!! – Soundcloud/Spotify/Amazon/iTunes
Classic Day – Black Gold
With the influence of jazz music on the 1950’s, the influx of largely populated areas of immigrant and minority musicians came a new dissection of genre and quickly changed almost overnight. Dorothy Ashby was a part of that movement with a surprising instrument choice, an oversized, operatic harp as her tool of decision. While not a majority of people were an audience to the harp, Afro-Harping is a record that stands behind the walls of the mainstreams and attaches to the fine roots of jazz history.
While she has a “triple burden” within the community as she was not only a woman in a male dominated industry, she was also African American, and played an instrument that most of the general public had little to no interest in at the time. It was this navigation and determination that makes Afro-Harping feel like such a victory behind music as it becomes a step back into the sun-ridden hills of 1968 with 10-total tracks that form quickly and dissipate just as soon. Even as the sound remains throughout, there is this emotional attachment that can reflect from the almost swing-sense that follows on Afro-Harping.
Ashby can collect this velvet smooth framing with the harp and the backing band that delivers whole-heartedly on manipulating the listener into becoming a monument of momentum. It was Afro-Harping that let the harp become the front instrument running the show as it grooves along to some blends of Richard Evans that allowed the instrument to really flow throughout the record. Opening tracks of “Soul Vibrations”, or the following of “Action Line”, Ashby strikes gold time and time again with a dedication to dropping some immensely beautiful rides of sound.
Even with “Life Has Its Trials” that feels focused on creating an uplifting sound on a daunting subject, it is deliberate through each release of the chords and surprisingly effective. Rather than creating downfalls within the record, Ashby stays on the up and up as she moves through the average length tracks of mostly three-minutes through these dance-esque movements. Afro-Harping breathes a ferocious light into the music and strangely enough creates an adaption to the harp that most at the time, would have been uneasy to.
The last moments of the record start to wind down and become more quiet before a giant barrage finale. Just as it starts, Afro-Harping ends with Ashby laying down an attractive muse of jazz music that builds and finally crumbles to the silence that follows behind.
Listen To Afro-Harping Here – Youtube/Spotify/Amazon/iTunes
THIS IS A LIST OF THE MOST RECENT STREAMS...
The complete list of all past streams can be accessed here as well (Click Here)
(Video) Lil Peep – “Cry Alone”
(Video) Jayy Braxx – “54321”
(Album) Sial – “Binasa”
(Video) Gucci Mane – “Kept Back”
(Album) Open Mike Eagle – “What Happens When I Try To Relax”
(Album) Lil B – “Options”
(Track) Wetemuh – “Belly”
(Video) Hunned Mill – “Ain’t Changed Pt. 2”
(Album) Greaf – “This Was All His Idea”
(Video) Freddie Gibbs – “Death Row”
(Track) Ace Uzumakii - "HOLLOW"
(Tracks) King Nine – “Paradise” and “V.R.C.F.”
The complete list of all past streams can be accessed here as well (Click Here)
