Meaty Ogre is a Rockford born, Chicago raised, Phoenix residing producer, DJ, beatmaker, vinyl collector & record store owner. He has had countless contributions on Galapagos4, Heardrums and many other labels including a barrage of rare 45s that you won't find now without paying top dollar (Galapagos4).
Released Albums and more:
Carybdis / Lonliness Will Tear You Apart (7") Heardrums Records 2001
Boomers / Bell Of The Beast (7") Heardrums Records 2002
Lift Your Load / Grownhome (7") Heardrums Records 2002
Amusing Ourselves To Death / Let The Stream Adjust (7") Galapagos4 2003
Flibbertigibbit / Long Dirty Word (7") Galapagos4 2003
Leo Vs. Pisces (CD) Galapagos4 2003
Leo Vs. Pisces Volume 1 (LP) Galapagos4 2003
Leo Vs. Pisces Volume 2 (LP) Galapagos4 2003
Summer Child / Sunset At Midnight (7") Heardrums Records 2003
Blanket Of Ash / Break Even (7") Curio Records 2004
Engaged Ring / Good Times (7") Heardrums Records 2005
Carne Asada (7", Ltd) Bully Records 2006
Freezer Burner (CD, Album) Galapagos4 2006
Saved (12") Super Bro, Galapagos4 2006
Reference:
(2010). Meaty Ogre. Galapagos4. Retrieved from http://www.galapagos4.com/artist.php?artist_id=79
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If the details seem scarce, it's because that's how TOBACCO likes to keep them. Hailing from an unspecified burg in rural Pennsylvania, somewhere north of Pittsburgh, he has successfully made a name for himself even as he's avoided acknowledging that name's legal counterpart. As both the frontman of Black Moth Super Rainbow and the sole creative engine behind TOBACCO, he's earned the eager ears and prying eyes of doggedly loyal fans and smitten critics alike - a kindness he's repaid by granting few interviews, obscuring his face in photos, and seeming wholly uninterested in the subject of his own identity. Such things just get in the way of the music after all, so if it's easier, you might think of TOBACCO as music - a one-man genre made of equal parts analog crunch, earthy psychedelia, fuzzed-up hip-hop, and outside pop. All the same, here's what's known.
TOBACCO has a sister. He grew up in a decent neighborhood. He was nearly strong-armed into elementary school band after an aptitude test suggested he play an instrument. He hated the idea, so he didn't do it. He didn't like music at all, in fact, until he discovered MTV - and hence, the Beasties' "So What'cha Want" video - one long summer bridging the middle of middle school. The first concert he attended was Butthole Surfers, and it's still his favorite. His favorite record of all time is Beck's Mellow Gold. Sticking to his childhood guns, he typically doesn't like music released earlier than the late '80s.
As for high school, TOBACCO could have done without the classes. An extracurricular interest in freestyle BMX - flatland - was soon replaced by a growing zeal for music, even though his first band, called Wood, didn't employ any instruments to its cause. (Its two main ingredients were flyers and hype.) Acquiring a guitar and a four-track opened up new doors, to the purplish noise and busted ghetto-blaster tracks that now populate The Allegheny White Fish Tapes, which TOBACCO self-released in 2009.
This was before the gritty analog synths, the murky vocoder-ing, and the hypnotic aural crush that came with founding Black Moth Super Rainbow. TOBACCO rounded up the group's members before graduation, and until last year's Dave Fridmann-produced collaborative affair, Eating Us, roughly treated BMSR as a solo project, penning three albums' and several EPs' worth of sludgy pagan pop for his cohorts to realize live. He designed BMSR's album art as well, which occasionally involved scratch-n-sniff elements or hair.
But TOBACCO would come to crave a more pure musical identity, one steeped in guttural sounds that hit harder and flashed brighter. This fixation reared its ugly head as 2008's beat-oriented Fucked Up Friends, TOBACCO's official debut. Two years later, with BMSR effectively on hiatus, the man is back and beastlier than ever with Maniac Meat, a record designed to bully his previous works into a corner, gut them, and leave 'em for dead. This is a good time to mention that TOBACCO believes he is making pop music (Anticon).
Featuring producers Florian Seyberth and Peter Heider, Boozoo Bajou are a downbeat duo from Nuremberg, Germany known for blending inspirations like reggae, dub, Cajun music, folk, jazz, and pop. They first appeared in 1998 via the Stereo Deluxe label and the single "Night Over Manaus." The exotic lounge number drew the attention of Richard Dorfmeister who hired the duo to remix "Chocolate Elvis," a 1999 single from Dorfmeister and Rupert Huber's project, Tosca. That same year, Bajou's jazzy single "Under My Sensi" became the chill-out tune of choice. It landed on their 2001 debut Satta! a dub meets electronica effort suitably named after the Jamaican Patois term for "relax." No surprise, then, that their 2003 mix CD Juke Joint skillfully blended Groove Armada, Burnt Friedman, Gregory Isaacs, Paul Weller, and John Lee Hooker, or that the same year's Remixes collection found them working with names like Common, Mousse T., and Thievery Corporation. Their sophomore release Dust My Broom landed in 2005 with country-rock hero Tony Joe White appearing on the single "Keep Going," while Jamaican deejay U-Brown traded lines with Fat Freddy's Drop singer Joe Dukie on the track "Take It Slow." A second volume of Juke Joint followed in 2006 and then the duo took on a new genre by exploring the introspective '70s sound of California. Adding Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and Jackson Browne to their long list of influences, the band's 2009 effort Grains became their most organic album to date (Jeffries, 2010).
Chris Greer was hunched down in his seat, slim face almost eye-level with the top of his desk, feigning the mild amount of interest needed to pass ninth grade earth science with flying colors, when something actually happened. The kid next to him—Brendon Whitney, the tall one who dressed like Parker Lewis—turned to Chris and asked: “Hey, what music do you like?” Chris responded the only way he could: “Guy.” “What?” “Guy…you know, Teddy Riley.” Brendon sighed: “Jesus, man. Here. Borrow this.” Something rippled the staid classroom air, and a copy of Special Ed’s Youngest in Charge skidded to a stop on top of Chris’ desk.
It was the beginning of a lot of things. To name three: a valuable new friendship (Brendon would soon become known as emcee/producer Alias), a future movement in art and sound (see “Anticon”), and a powerful obsession that would drive Chris away from new jack swing into the tough-but-loving arms of hip-hop. His roots were in the quiet suburbs of Maine and New Jersey (dad was in the coast guard, mom was a nurse, little brother fed the cats); his “now” consisted of spinning rap at school dances, working on his turntable chops from the bedroom window (each noise complaint was a merit badge), and combing local vinyl bargain bins for little round bits of fantastic. Thusly, DJ Mayonnaise arrived.
1993 saw Mayo and Alias crossing fate with another pair of inseparable and unusually named high school friends: Sole and Moodswing9. Together (with a few others) they founded a short-lived indie label (45 Below), became the greatest rap crew Portland, Maine has ever seen (Live Poets—Mayo contributed the cuts), and forged one puzzle piece of the early Anticon collective. DJ Mayonnaise was among the first wave to follow Sole’s vision to the Bay Area, to cramped spaces and creative saturation. And his first compositions helped define Anticon’s monumental opening salvo: Music for the Advancement of Hip-Hop, Deep Puddle Dynamics’ A Taste of Rain…Why Kneel, Sole’s Bottle of Humans, and his own debut LP, 55 Stories (all released in 1999). Mayo’s Stories was an eclectic instrumental platter built from (the art of) scratch with a deep, bassy melancholic core. It would also be his last album for eight years.
In 2007, Anticon welcomes DJ Mayonnaise back into the fold. Day jobs, distance and disillusionment can work their wear on one’s inspiration (as can living in a two-bedroom apartment with eight other artists), but if Chris Greer learned anything in earth science, it was that in the most familiar of circumstances, inspiration has a tendency of appearing quite naturally before one’s eyes. Mayo returned to his roots—moving to the arts-friendly Portland neighborhood of Munjoy Hill—and there he discovered his sophomore opus, the full and brightly musical Still Alive. His latest is marked by bold instrumentation, effortless detail and atmospheric pacing that, in sum, outright destroy the notion that DJ Mayonnaise had fallen off. On the contrary, we’ve finally been invited to his homecoming (Anticon).
Grown up in Yeovil, a true West Country Boy - heavily attracted to the new sounds of Techno coming out of Detroit and anything with the funk as well as soundtracks and library music and most other aural weirdness.
Apart from a brief diversion into the culinary world, Mark was irresistibly drawn towards music making and that's where he is today. Responsible for many classics, he has gained respect and admiration from a committed fan-base, critics as well as fellow musicians. Very early in his career he found like-minded people in Tom Middleton and Richard James (Aphex Twin).
With Tom he went on to set up the seminal Evolution label (named after the Carl Craig track) dedicated to the pioneering of Techno and Electronica. The label encouraged a very high level of experimentation with its no-compromise stance.
This combination produced some amazing music but was fiercely non-commercial in its approach, which ultimately led to it's demise. An acclaimed compilation of the label was released on Warp.
Concentrating on his own music Mark embarked on the Global Communication project, along with Tom Middleton- making deep, ambient music, incorporating the emotional soundscapes that became a signature of their work. Highly challenging whilst remaining beautiful the project took ambient music to another level, and introduced them to a whole new audience whilst winning massive critical accl.. 'best ambient album of the decade' The Guardian.
Separately Mark worked on his Reload project for Creation, a highly experimental work of Techno/ Ambient/Soundtrack that described journeys into inner and outer space. The follow up to this album is eagerly awaited and anticipated for release in 2007! on Warp.
Following this came the Link - E621 12" release on Warp. And another label with Tom named 'Universal Language' with the same ideals and pioneering attitude of Evolution. The two released the Jedi Knights album through this label and became known for no-messing heavy beats and bass lines combined with an inimitable funkiness. They also incorporated elements of hip-hop and electro giving them a distinctive and instantly recognizable sound.
Shortly after came the classic chameleon Link 12'' for Good Looking records which became an anthem at Speed (LTJ Bukem and Fabios club night).
As their reputation grew they picked up remix work together, producing amazing reinterpretations of Lamb and Azymuth and Warp 69. Meanwhile, Mark developed his own midtempo sound, which can be heard on his remixes for Orb /Stereopeople /Cosmos/ KRS-1/ Tribe Called Quest, which have all become underground classics.
Work in progress includes the Use of Weapons (Drum and Bass) for Droppin Science records who Mark also records as Vertigo with Danny Breaks. Working simultaneously for a variety of different labels, has Mark going cross genre and taking his sound to the next level.
Given a chance to fully explore his love of Hip Hop and easy listening- he has produced his Harmonic 33 EP on Alphabet Zoo records which is an offshoot of Droppin Science records.
Named after the frequency produced by planets turning on their axes, which it is believed other beings use to navigate the universe - the name betrays his deep interest in outer space and in discovery and science fiction. Using a seductive 60s easy listening vibe combined with weird science Mark has produced some of the most interesting instrumental hip-hop to come out of the UK recently.
Whatever the genre Mark's work has been characterized by his ability to of giving the music more room to get funky, and producing deeply emotional, and twisted sounds - guaranteed to get your groove on!
After a long standing relationship with Far Out Recordings and his involvement in various production and re-mix work, Mark had developed a new sound. The natural progression for Mark was to record an album for Far Out Recordings of futuristic techno funk, tinged with Electro, hip hop and Latin: Trouble Man (RCRD LBL, 2010).
Hailing from a city just 40 miles outside of Chicago named Aurora –known mostly for its advances in streetlight technology and for being Ginger Lynn’s hometown– Marco Jacobo (aka Maker) has spent the past 12 years honing his production talent, releasing a barrage of albums/45s/remixes, and spending a lion’s share of his non-studio time on the road.
But despite all this, you may not have heard his name mentioned until recently. Emerging from the vital Chicago underground Hip-Hop community of the late 90s, his role as producer naturally kept him behind the scenes, tweaking levels and digging for ‘breaks,’ yet fans quickly began to associate hard, organic drums and deftly chopped/arranged dusty samples with ‘The Sound of Maker.’
After collaborating on a short series of underground releases with local artists, his beat-making prowess brought upon the attention of Chicago indie Hip-Hop record labels Birthwrite, and Galapagos4. Beginning with his critically acclaimed debut Honestly (Birthwrite, 2003. “the music leaves an indelible imprint” – rapreviews.com) and immediately segueing into his sophomore solo project Shooting The Breeze (Galapagos4, 2005), the mid-aught’s found Maker establishing a substantial following both within and outside of the Hip-Hop/Downtempo industries. Quality met quantity in a perfect balance as listeners were bombarded with various non-album projects like the limited press 7”s on Bully & Heardrums as well as the 7” series entitled The Maker Files (Shake It, 2007) featuring Maker, Joey Beats, and Scott Matelic.
Rewind to 2003. Soon after establishing himself as a Downtempo/Instrumental Hip-Hop powerhouse, Maker strived to incorporate live vocals and turntablism into his creations. The resulting endeavors include his long-running partnership with MC Qwel on the producer albums The Harvest (Galapagos4, 2004) and So Be It (Galapagos4, 2009) –these albums also double as the first & last releases in Qwel’s ‘Four Seasons’ series– as well as his lead producer role in the Hip Hop group Glue. Consisting of Adeem (two-time Scribble Jam Champion) and DJ DQ (Animal Crackers), Glue released a trio of full-lengths including Seconds AwaySunset Lodge (Shake It, 2005), & Catch As Catch Can (Fat Beats, 2007). (Ramona 2003),
These projects afforded Maker the opportunity to perform alongside such notable, internationally-known artists like Pharcyde, DeLaSoul, Masta Ace, Prince Paul, Little Brother, Mike Relm, Mos Def, MF Doom, Cage, Killah Priest, Mr. Dibbs, 2Mex, Sixtoo, Blockhead, Shapeshifters, and many others with tour routes spanning the US, Europe, and Japan. And specifically, Glue was a featured artist on MTV2 & Fuse.tv and showcased on Van’s Warped Tour.
Maker’s creations have also been featured on songs by Sleep (Old Dominion), Josh Martinez (Camobear), Dessa (Doomtree), Psalm One, The Opus, and indie rock band Cassettes Won’t Listen. And more recently Maker’s production can be heard on the producer album entitled Graymaker, a collaboration with Grayskull (Rhymesayers, Old Dominion).
From a licensing perspective, Maker beats have found their way onto various TV shows, movies, programs etc… like theThis American Life’s radio broadcast, the motion picture Trick ‘r Treat (WB, 2009), MTV’s The Buried Life TV series, and many more.
But being a producer is only one result of Maker being a self-described ‘crate digger.’ After spending countless hours amongst piles and piles of dusty 45s, 12inch singles, and LPs, it became a natural evolution for Maker to begin DJing. In late 2006, he formed the DJ crew The Comeups Sound System along with industry peers DJ Intel (Platter Pirates, Dirty Social), DJ Pickel (Analog Addicts), & visual artist Jose Garibaldi (Little Brown Heart). A typical Comeups DJ set spans Funk, Soul, Hip-Hop, Disco, House, Latin, Downtempo, & Breaks, and Maker’s DJ residencies have found him performing alongside artists like Pete Rock, Afrika Bambaataa, Steinski, Chicken George, Andy Smith of Portishead, Greyboy, DJ Day, D-Styles, Z-Trip, Peanut Butter Wolf, & Chairman Mao at nearly every trendy, low-fi, and/or large scale concert venue from Chicago to the West Coast (Ground Lift Media).
Meet David P. Madson, a.k.a. Odd Nosdam: artist, musician, DJ, and co-founder and ex-art director of Bay Area record label/collective Anticon.
Through the years, this Middle American maestro of beat-driven collage has championed a sound reflective of his greatest influences (hip-hop, indie rock, reggae, ambient), but one that can only be paired with the Odd Nosdam name. His source materials are meticulously selected from dusty vinyl archives, field recordings and occasional live instrumentation, then spun into heady atmospheric bliss via sampling, knob turning, layering, tape-dubbing, and the happy accidents that come with the territory. His oeuvre comprises album-length opuses of shadowy soundscapes (2005 and 2007’s fuzz-addled, dub-damaged wonder twins, 'Burner' and 'Level Live Wires'), hodgepodge instrumental collections (1999’s 'Plan 9... Meat Your Hypnotis.', 2002’s 'No More Wig For Ohio', and 2006’s self-released 'Vol. 8'), crate-digging mix tape delights (like 2002's masterful DJ mash-up 'Le Mixtape Delux' and 2007's smash-up 'Mixtape Super Delux'), original soundtracks (most notably, for Element Skateboards' 2007 feature length film, 'This Is My Element'), and compilations of choice odds and ends (2008's double disc set of remixes, B-sides, videos and original songs, 'Pretty Swell Explode').
In collaboration as well, Nosdam has made deep forays into the far side of sound, first gaining wide acclaim for the megaspheric drone and warped pop of his former group cLOUDDEAD (with fellow Anticon founders Why? and Doseone); more recently, working closely with Mike Patton on his Peeping Tom project and remixing tracks by a variety of bands including The Notwist, Danielson Famile, Serena-Maneesh, Boards of Canada, Bracken and Black Moth Super Rainbow. He’s also produced, mixed or collaborated with Jel, Jessica Bailiff, Reaching Quiet, Restiform Bodies, Thee More Shallows, TV On The Radio, Kool Keith, Themselves, Sole, Sage Francis, Mr. Dibbs, Dosh, Fog, Why?, Alias, Múm, Eluvium, Grouper, Greenthink, Hood and others (Anticon).
Who exactly is Clutchy Hopkins? That's the million-dollar question that became a favorite topic on various Internet chat boards when a dozen undeniably funky and up-to-date instrumental beat tracks, each one titled only by its running time, appeared as The Life of Clutchy Hopkins in 2006 from the Misled Children imprint. Hopkins, it appeared, was either a clever media creation or actually an aging revolutionary savant effortlessly in touch with the music of the 21st century. A mystery man dressed up as a stylish enigma, he really seemed too good to be true.
The "official" bio for Hopkins seemed preposterous at best, telling the story of the son of a Motown recording engineer who traveled to Japan in his twenties to study with Rinzai monks, then to India to study Raja yoga, and from there Hopkins, so the story goes, journeyed to Nigeria to study percussion, becoming as well a gun-runner and revolutionary. Returning to the U.S., Hopkins reportedly recorded with numerous jazz, funk, and avant combos from the early '70s through the late '90s, always refusing to have his name cited on any of the projects. Tapes of his own music were supposedly uncovered at a swap meet in the Mojave Desert on reels simply marked C. Hopkins and accompanied by a handwritten autobiographical manuscript. Hopkins is now, so the story continues, either a busking beach hobo in Southern California or a recluse living in a cave in the Mojave Desert. All of this was understandably difficult to swallow, and theories about Hopkins' actual identity have ranged from MF Doom to DJ Shadow, Cut Chemist, or one of or all of the Beastie Boys moonlighting and pulling the wool over everyone's eyes.
The one clear thing is that the music on The Life of Clutchy Hopkins is a marvelously concocted and amazingly fresh and contemporary mesh of funk, hip-hop, jazz, and straight-out weird orchestral psychedelia (Hopkins reportedly played all the instruments, which include drums, bass, guitar, organ, flute, melodica, and assorted percussion, himself) that suggests Mr. Hopkins must have had a pretty good Internet connection in that Mojave cave. The Clutchy Hopkins legend continued when Ubiquity Records released the set Walking Backwards (a CD of music and a DVD of supposed "confessionals" from folks who reportedly knew or met Hopkins) in 2008. Music Is My Medicine, attributed to Hopkins and Lord Kenjamin, appeared in 2009, again from Ubiquity Records. The story continued in 2010 with The Storyteller, which was reported delivered to Ubiquity on a banged-up iPod complete with a spoken word reading of the history of the recording done in ten different languages (Leggett, 2010).
Released Albums:
Clutchy Hopkins - The Life of Clutchy Hopkins
Clutchy Hopkins - Clutch of The Tiger
Clutchy Hopkins - Walking Backwards
Clutchy Hopkins - Fascinating Fingers
Clutchy Hopkins - Music Is My Medicine
Clutchy Hopkins - The Story Teller
Reference:
Leggett, S. (2010). Clutchy Hopkins. All Music. Retrieved from
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:dpfexqurldfe~T1
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Los Angeles producer Nosaj Thing crafts stately, ethereal synth-based instrumental hip-hop, with influences that range from Boards of Canada and DJ Shadow to Danny Elfman and Erik Satie. An L.A. native, Jason Chung was inspired at an early age by the hip-hop radio stations that the bus driver would play on his way to elementary school, and particularly by the Beat Junkies' turntablism on Power 106. In high school, while delving into the sounds of drum'n'bass and the rave scene and playing quad toms in the school drum line, he figured out how to use his father's old PC to start programming beats of his own. Further along, Chung was motivated to move in more experimental directions by the D.I.Y. rock scene at L.A.'s underground venue The Smell, where he made his live debut as Nosaj Thing in 2004. Through online and in-person networking, on message boards and, eventually, at the more beat-oriented music spot Low End Theory, Chung came into contact with likeminded Angelenos including Flying Lotus, Nobody, Daedelus, and local legends (and personal heroes) like D-Styles and Daddy Kev. Following the self-released Views/Octopus EP in 2006 (whose track "Aquarium" was later used by rapper Kid Cudi as the basis of his "Man on the Moon"), he signed with Kev's Alpha Pup imprint for his full-length debut, Drift, in 2009. Chung has also contributed beats to MCs Busdriver and Nocando, and made remixes for Flying Lotus, Daedelus, Radiohead, and Smell staples Health (Hoffman, 2010).
DJ Shadow's Josh Davis is widely credited as a key figure in developing the experimental instrumental hip-hop style associated with the London-based Mo' Wax label. His early singles for the label, including "In/Flux" and "Lost and Found (S.F.L.)," were all-over-the-map mini-masterpieces combining elements of funk, rock, hip-hop, ambient, jazz, soul, and used-bin incidentalia. Although he'd already done a scattering of original and production work (during 1991-1992 for Hollywood Records) by the time Mo' Wax's James Lavelle contacted him about releasing "In/Flux" on the fledgling imprint, it wasn't until his association with Mo' Wax that his sound began to mature and cohere. Mo' Wax released a longer work in 1995 -- the 40-minute single in four movements "What Does Your Soul Look Like," which topped the British indie charts -- and Davis went on to co-write, remix, and produce tracks for labelmates DJ Krush and Dr. Octagon plus the Mo' trip-hop supergroup UNKLE.
Davis grew up in Hayward, CA, a predominantly lower-middle-class suburb of San Francisco. The odd white suburban hip-hop fan in the hard rock-dominated early '80s, Davis gravitated toward the turntable/mixer setup of the hip-hop DJ over the guitars, bass, and drums of his peers. He worked his way through hip-hop's early years into the heyday of crews like Eric B. & Rakim, Ultramagnetic MC's, and Public Enemy, groups that prominently featured DJs in their ranks. Davis had already been fiddling around with making beats and breaks on a four-track while he was in high school, but it was his move to the NorCal town of Davis to attend university that led to the establishment of his own Solesides label as an outlet for his original tracks. Hooking up with Davis' few b-boys (including eventual Solesides artists Blackalicious and Lyrics Born) through the college radio station, Shadow began releasing the Reconstructed from the Ground Up mixtapes in 1991 and pressed his 17-minute hip-hop symphony "Entropy" in 1993. His tracks spread widely through the DJ-strong hip-hop underground, eventually catching the attention of Mo' Wax. Shadow's first full-length, Endtroducing..., was released in late 1996 to immense critical acclaim in Britain and America. Preemptive Strike, a compilation of early singles, followed in early 1998.
Later that year, Shadow produced tracks for the debut album by UNKLE, a longtime Mo' Wax production team that gained superstar guests including Thom Yorke (of Radiohead), Richard Ashcroft (of the Verve), Mike D (of the Beastie Boys), and others. His next project came in 1999, with the transformation of Solesides into a new label, Quannum Projects. Nearly six years after his debut production album, the proper follow-up, The Private Press, was released in June 2002. The following year Shadow released a mix album, Diminishing Returns, and in 2004 he released a live album and DVD, Live! In Tune and on Time. In 2006 his long-awaited third solo album, The Outsider, came out, but instead of following the blueprint he used on his past two records, Shadow enlisted help from Bay Area rappers like Keak da Sneak, E-40, and Lateef, as well as David Banner and Q-Tip (Cooper, 2010).
Released Albums:
Dj Shadow - Endtroducing...
Dj Shadow - The Private Press
Dj Shadow - The Outsider
Dj Shadow - Preemptive Strike
Too many too list...................
Reference:
Cooper, S. (2010). Dj Shadow. All Music. Retrieved from
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:wnfwxqqgld0e~T1
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From Tacoma to San Francisco to Chicago to Los Angeles to New York, producer Eliot Lipp has always followed the music. Creating songs that, according to XLR8R, "tickle days after the last spin," he combines hip-hop influenced drum programming with the vintage synthesizer sounds found in the cutting edge electronic music of the 70s. Eliot Lipp's early career saw him vigorously honing his skill on the club circuit where his fresh and daring take on hip-hop impressed Scott Herren (Prefuse 73) so much that he put out his 2004 debut LP on Eastern Developments. Subsequent successful releases on Hefty Records have continued to expand his audience and refine his craft. Now, Mush is thrilled to bring offerings of Eliot Lipp's timeless yet novel interpretation of electro-funk to the people (JamBase, 1998-2010).
Released Albums:
Eliot Lipp - Eliot Lipp
Eliot Lipp - Steele Street Scraps
Eliot Lipp - Tacoma Mockingbird
Eliot Lipp - The Days Ep
Eliot Lipp - Neonstrider Bit Rate Ep
Eliot Lipp - The Outside
Eliot Lipp - Peace Love Weed 3D
Reference:
(1998-2010). Eliot Lipp. JamBase. Retrieved from http://www.jambase.com/Artists/35688/Eliot-Lipp/Bio
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Birdy Nam Nam are a DJ crew from France whose members are Crazy-B, DJ Pone, DJ Need, and Little Mike. Birdy Nam Nam have won several prizes throughout their career including the DMC Technics 2002 World TEAM Championships. Birdy Nam Nam's goal is to use the turntable player as an actual musical instrument. Their self-titled debut album was released in 2006 on Uncivilized World Records, and in March of that year, they performed at the internationally-renowned music conference SXSW. The group's name is taken from a line in the 1968 Peter Sellers film The Party, directed by Blake Edwards.They gain their music from friends, owned albums, and press beats and patterns into vinyl to assemble their music live (RCRD LBL, 2010).
You can listen to Birdy Nam Nam's music at: http://www.last.fm/music/Birdy+Nam+Nam
Released Albums:
Birdy Nam Nam - Body, Mind, Spirit... EP
Birdy Nam Nam - Engineer Fear Ep
Birdy Nam Nam - Manual For Successful Rioting
Birdy Nam Nam - Birdy Nam Nam
Reference:
(2010). Birdy Nam Nam. RCRD LBL. Retrieved from
http://mail.web.rcrdlbl.com/artists/Birdy_Nam_Nam/music
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Underground beat maestro Anthony Simon, better known as Blockhead, first lent his production hands in the mid-'90s to then up-and-coming MC Aesop Rock, who rose to indie rap prominence during the 2000s. Blockhead's contributions to Aesop's LPs were a big factor to the indie MC's success, especially those from Aesop's highly regarded Definitive Jux debut Labor Days (2001). Nevertheless, in the following years the New York producer garnered his own acclaim as an instrumental rap artiste, turning his sampledelic beats into brooding, trip-hop-like concoctions.
Born and raised in Manhattan, Simon was one of seven children. The bohemian mentality of his father, a painter and sculptor, and the steadfastness of his mother, a social worker, confounded Simon's upbringing, but yet informed his musical pursuits. He was aspiring to be an MC -- that is, until he first met Aesop Rock in 1994, the one year he attended Boston University. After hearing Aesop spit verses, he hung up the mic and focused on producing. Blockhead provided most of the beats for Aesop afterwards, including Aesop's self-pressed material, Music for Earthworms (1997) and Appleseed (1999), as well as his proper full-length debut Float, released via Mush Records in 2000. In 2001, Mush wound up releasing Blockhead's first beat tape, Blockhead's Broken Beats, as well.
Blockhead continued producing Aesop when the abstract MC signed with New York upstart Def Jux in 2000. Upon the 2001 release of Labor Days, for which Blockhead produced nine tracks, critics and indie rap fans alike heavily praised the two's work. It led to the release of the EP Daylight the following year, which was based around the popular "Daylight" song from the Labor Days LP.
With this success, Blockhead began to break out on his own. Though not intended to become a real project, the Manhattan producer formed comedy rap duo Party Fun Action Committee with longtime friend Jeremy Gibson, aka Jer, issuing their debut, Let's Get Serious, on Def Jux in 2003; he also supplied beats for many of the label's signees, including Murs, Hangar 18, and later Cage. However, for his solo material, he shopped around to other labels, eventually finding a home in U.K. electronic stalwart Ninja Tune. Blockhead's proper debut, the Insomniac Olympics EP, arrived in 2003, and led up to the more cinematic and downtempo full-length, Music by Cavelight in 2004, and the ode to his Manhattan home, Downtown Science, in 2005. His work with Aesop diminished considerably during this period, until the recording of Aesop's 2007 album, None Shall Pass. That same year, Ninja Tune issued Blockhead's third long-player, Uncle Tony's Coloring Book, a more uptempo piece than his previous records (Cordor, 2010).
Released Albums:
Blockhead - Blockhead's Broke Beats
Blockhead - Insomniac Olympics
Blockhead - Music By Cavelight
Blockhead - The Block is Hot
Blockhead - Block in the Box
Blockhead - Downtown Science
Blockhead - Peanuts in Your Mouth
Blockhead - Uncle Tony's Coloring Book
Blockhead - The Music Scene
Reference:
Cordor, C. (2010). Blockhead. All Music. Retrieved from
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:gvfyxq80ldse~T1
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With his third album “In The Mood For Life”, Wax Wax Tailor accheives an organic landscape with orchestral accents that reconciles more than ever the groove of hip-hop and the melodies of pop. In just 4 years, his music has seduced a large audience around the world.
Who Is Wax Tailor ?
After spending two decades immersed in the culture of hip-hop, as a rapper, producer, label manager, graffitti artist, tour organizer and radio DJ, JC Le Saoult had aquired a global artistic vision. He put this vision to good use on the Wax Tailor project, and released his first album “Tales of the Forgotten Melodies” in 2005. Word of mouth helped his “orchestral hip-hop” project meet a diversified audience of music lovers equally seduced by his rare grooves and cinematic moods. The album was distinguished as one of the best of the year by Playboy Magazine, iTunes and KEXP.
One thing is for sure, Wax Tailor cared little for labels. Be it abstract hip-hop or electronic, trip-hop or downtempo, his style defies categorization and yet is immediately recognizable, a mix of his passion for US beats, his sampling culture and a certain european lyricism. JC is a true sonic craftsman, designing music at his own pace, favoring quality over productivity. In 2007, he releases “Hope & Sorrow”, his second album, which sells over 80,000 sales worldwide. What follows is a year marked by honours, such as scoring the Cannes Film Festival’s 40th Anniversary ceremony, a nomination to the US Indie Awards and the Victoires de la Musiques, the French equivalent to the Grammies, as well as a relentless touring schedule of over 200 dates, which takes him from Japan to Eastern Europe, and from the USA to South America. He also pens the title track for Cedric Klapisch’s movie “Paris” (released on September 21 stateside) and commits a few remixes, for Nina Simone among others (Le Plan Music, 2010).
Joe Beats is a sample based producer most known for his work with Sage Francis to make up the duo Non-Prophets.
Since, he has released a myriad of material. His solo efforts mainly consist of Indie Rock Blues (a remix album of indie rock) and Diverse Recourse which is the follow up to his earlier album Reverse Discourse.
His production credits are listed under many like aliases: Joey Beats, The Joe Beats Experiment, The Joe Beats Conspiracy, The Joe Beats Trio, Joey “Nose” Beats, Joe Beats & Blak, Non-Prophets, etc.
Joe Beats performs all of his music live with twin sp-404 samplers. An interesting tidbit is he refuses to play on stage. The main sentiment being the audience has the option to see exactly what he’s doing on the samplers during the performance.
For the past two years he’s been seen on the road with emcee Blak Lungz (formerly of Florida Jungle Hop band One Drop). Together they’ve released two preliminary EP’s leading up to their debut LP and have done four tours -mainly on the east coast (Last.fm, 2010).
You can listen to Joe Beats' music at: http://www.last.fm/music/Joe+Beats
Released Albums:
Joe Beats - Diverse Recourse
Joe Beats - Reverse Discourse
Joe Beats - Hopestrumentals
Reference:
(2010). Joe Beats. Last.fm. Retrieved from http://www.last.fm/music/Joe+Beats
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If it wasn't for Theo Huxtable, Brendon Whitney might might have never left the woods of Southern Maine. Raised by a church organist/hobby store clerk and a fire-fighting jazz drummer on six acres of land in rural Hollis, little Bren never had cable television. Naturally, when the MTV receptors started flaring up in his 13-year-old brain, something had to be done. With only three general stores in town, the musical pickings were slim, so Bren and big sis Aubrey would stay up combing their five TV channels for some sort of sign. And that was when they found Theo, hosting NBC's now defunct Friday Night Videos.
Specifically, it was the video for Special Ed's "I'm the Magnificent" that did it. A 16-year-old rapping about owning 74 Honda scooters is hot shit to a kid whose nearest peer lives on the other side of a small forest populated by toothless itinerants. Bren bought every hip-hop magazine he could find, and plastered the walls of his and younger brother Ehren's bedroom with pictures of rappers feverishly grabbing their crotches. His parents were unsure about the imagery, but supportive of his passion, so on Christmas of 1992 they gave him his first drum machine. Exit little Bren, enter big Alias.
In 1993, a trip to the Maine Mall in Portland brought Alias, 17, to the feet of a real life Karl Kani-fitted hip-hop scholar. He listened to the wisdom spoken through this guru's then-patchy red beard, and soon would be battle-rapping in the "ciphers" he'd only read about. The mythical Moodswing9 would teach him to use an MPC3000 and an ADAT machine, how to find vinyl records with drum breaks and, three years later, he joined Sole (who'd since ditched the Karl Kani) as a member of the Live Poets crew.
Still, it wasn't until 1998, after finishing the seminal Deep Puddle Dynamics project alongside Sole, Dose One, and Atmosphere's Slug, that Alias realized he was a lifer. He and his wife Jenn were on their way to the laundromat when they got a copy of the finished DPD record. They subsequently sold the car, quit their jobs, packed everything into a U-Haul to head west. In East Oakland, they moved into an old warehouse with the rest of Anticon's first migratory wave. Here, Alias concocted his first album--a rap-heavy, poetic and brooding introspective called The Other Side of the Looking Glass (2002).
But after producing tracks for Sole's Selling Live Water and watching Dax Pierson play keyboards in Themselves' touring band, Alias began to focus on wordless moodpieces. His Eyes Closed EP and Muted full-length (2003) wedded rich atmospherics to guitars, keys, synth, and drums (both tapped out and played live), announcing a new direction for the artist. In 2005, Alias' little brother Ehren--quite the musician now--flew to California to visit and record. The resulting instrumental LP--a gorgeous, swirling work of woodwinds and signature Alias sounds--was named after their grandmother, Lillian.
2006 brought a new Alias-anchored duo, this time in collaboration with New York electro chanteuse Tarsier (Rona Rapadas), and the album Brookland/Oaklyn, which paid homage to vintage trip-hop even while pushing the boundaries of contemporary electronica. In 2007, Collected Remixes gathered intricate and icy reworkings of pieces by The One AM Radio, John Vanderslice, Christ., 13 & God, Lali Puna, and Lunz, among others. And later that year, partly in an attempt to shake off creative stagnation (which seems absurd considering his steady output), Alias and wife Jenn once again packed for a cross-country trip (Anticon).
Released Albums:
Alias - The Other Side of The Looking Glass
Alias - Three Phase Irony Ep
Alias - Eyes Closed Ep
Alias - Muted
Alias - All Things Fixable
Alias - Resurgam
Alias - Resurgam Residual Ep
Reference:
Alias. Anticon. Retrieved from http://www.anticon.com/index.php?section=artist&target=Alias&js=yes
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Yppah (pronounced “Yippah”), sometimes know as Joe Corrales, Jr., released his debut album You Are Beautiful At All Times in November of 2006 on Ninja Tune records. This stunning debut is a lush mix of beautiful and often times melancholic electronica, breakbeat drum samples with shoegazer melodies set in an atmospheric sound landscape.
Joe spent his early teen years playing guitar and bass in rock bands, then later as a scratch DJ who mixed hip hop and house in clubs sets. He's also a founding member of the turntablist group The Truth.
Drawing on a cultural heritage that took in My Bloody Valentine alongside hip hop and heavily influenced by various forms of electronic music, psychedelic soul and rock, his music often mixes guitars shoved through massive reverbs/delays, keyboards/synthesizers, live drums, and other techniques.
Since the release of You Are Beautiful At All Times, Yppah has formed a live band consisting of himself, Caliban Goodbrain (Thomas Sutherland), Nicholas Noeding, Jr. and rotating band members. Live performances of the album have included shows at SXSW 2007 and the enormously popular Starbucks Mixed Media Series at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. Yppah again made an appearance at SXSW 2008 as a DJ. He has traveled with the likes of DJ Food, DK, Bonobo and Zero dB taking part in Solid Steel Nippon 2, a hugely popular music event in Japan. He has also created remixes for DJ Kentaro and Zero dB.
Recently, Yppah’s music has been embraced by the entertainment industry. His songs have been featured in television episodes of “CSI” and “House”, the movie “21”, and in the videogame trailer for Atari’s “Alone in the Dark.”
Yppah’s sophomore album, They Know What Ghost Know, will be released in May of 2009. Employing the same atmospheric mix as his debut album, They Know What Ghost Know will consist of a more rock based sound. He is also a third of the electronic/rock group Day of the Woman with Pollination/Nick Noeding, Jr. (Albuquerque, NM) and Stenographer/Dave Salinas (Houston, TX) formerly of "Go Spread Your Wings" (Ninja Tune).
As a young teenager, Kel McKeown (AKA Kelpe) decided that sampling and sequencing might provide him with a safer past time than bone splintering skateboarding mishaps.
The initial efforts made on a Commodore Amiga with a sampler provided him with a discipline and focus that is of fundamental importance to the creative process that he currently employs in the execution of his distinctive beat creations.
Kelpe’s influences range from the bleeps & bass of classic Warp artists to the funk of Sly Stone, and the minimalism of Steve Reich + Harmonia to the percussive space-scapes of Tortoise + Do Make Say Think. The diversity of the music that inspires Kelpe finds reflection in his own sonic adventures, informing his ever evolving sound, combining as map and compass to guide his lunar-bound b-boy throw downs (Kelpe, 2009).
"Drill'n'bass" outfit Animals on Wheels was the first signing to U.K. beatfreak label Ninja Tune from the Bovinyl imprint, run by Cambridge-based Andy Coleman. Coleman is also the principle behind AOW, whose humorous brand of jazzy, hyperdriven breakbeat fracture is comparable to that of Aphex Twin, Plug, and Squarepusher, among others. (The curious name derives, reportedly, from a friend of Coleman's who claims the largest collection of the likenamed tchotchkes.) Coleman issued a trio of twelves on his own label, as well as a handful of compilation tracks, before releasing his debut for Ninja Tune, the full-length Designs and Mistakes, in 1997. A trendy blend of dimestore jazz samples, mile-a-minute breaks, and fizzy downtempo weirdness, the album probably missed the cheeky jungle curve by about six months, although it earned Coleman a wider audience for his music than the comparatively short reach of Bovinyl allowed. Nuvo I Cadira followed in 1999 (Cooper, 2010).
Released Albums:
Animals on Wheels - Joyless Fade Impeller Ep
Animals on Wheels - Cooked Ep
Animals on Wheels - Designs and Mistakes
Animals on Wheels - Nuvol l Cadira
Animals on Wheels - Dummy Ep
Reference:
Cooper, S. (2010). Animals on Wheels. All Music. Retrieved from http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll
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Over the past years, DJ Scientist has become an important figure in the German Hip-Hop and Electronic scene. Running two labels (Equinox and Audiac) and publishing a magazine (DEAD Magazine), he still takes his time to dj at clubs, release mixes, expand his record collection and, last but not least, produce music.
Starting his DJ-career in 1995 and releasing several mixtapes to spread his name in his home town of Munich, he put out his first record in 2001 – a dj tool called “Mad Science Breaks”. One year later the dark and melancholic Misantropolis EP, mainly produced by him, was the first release on Audiac. Since then, DJ Scientist put his main effort into his label Equinox Records, which now has its headquarters in Berlin. In 2005 he produced 3 tracks for the critically acclaimed “Welcome to the Neo Golden Age – A Sound Exposure Vol.1” Compilation. Being part of the Equinox 10inch Series, his 4 track “Journey Goodbye EP” (2006) contained the outstanding “Atarius” as well as the soulful and bluesy “Autumn Leaves”. Both tracks are considered underground instrumental hip-hop classics.
During his career, Scientist has performed with artists such as Sage Francis, The Pharcyde, Noah23, M.I.A., DJ Faust & DJ Shortee, Ceschi Ramos, Sole & The Skyrider Band, Egyptian Lover, Marc Hype & Jim Dunloop, DiViNCi (of Sol.illaquists of Sound), Subtitle, Boca45, Geste, The Tape, Thesis Sahib, Busy Bee, Wildchild, DJ Static, 88:Komaflash, and many others.
Although DJ Scientist is mainly known for his instrumental productions he has recorded songs with hiphop artists like Ceschi, 2Mex (of Visionaries), Myka 9 (of Freestyle Fellowship), Awol One (of Shape Shifters), Noah23, among others (Equinox).
Inventive, genre-defying producer Waajeed was cut from the same cloth of Detroit's soul-driven hip-hop underground as its chief representative, Jay Dee (aka Dilla). After all, Waajeed -- born Robert O'Bryant IV in Detroit in 1975 -- and Jay Dee both grew up in Detroit's Conant Gardens neighborhood. Assuming the position as DJ, Waajeed, along with Dilla and many others, formed a crew called Senepod, but when the group slimmed down to four people around 1991, they renamed themselves Slum Village. However, Waajeed's parents disapproved of his involvement and pulled him out of the group. Although he went on to study graphic arts and design and photography at a local college, he still maintained a close relationship with the now trio. After Slum Village released their first album and rare underground classic, Fan-Tas-Tic, Vol. 1, in 1996, Slum went on tour throughout Europe and invited Waajeed to be their DJ again. Waajeed was so inspired by the experience that, when he returned, he spent countless hours (which turned into days and then months) perfecting his beat-making craft.Over the next few years, the eclectic producer tried to break into the industry selling his music to other artists. Ironically, after Dilla left Slum Village in 2001, he found himself working next to Slum again, building tracks for their Dirty District mixtape and major-label debut, Trinity (2002). He also co-produced for Dilla on his 2001 solo debut, Welcome 2 Detroit. Due to growing interest in his work, he founded his own record company, Bling 47, which also served as a creative space for developing artists of all types. The first significant project of the new venture was the otherworldly Platinum Pied Pipers outfit, which included him and multi-instrumentalist Saadiq (although the first of the label's releases were two beat tapes entirely produced by Jay Dee). The group was meant to be a vehicle for their artistic process and musical production, enlisting as many MCs, vocalists, and musicians as they saw fit. After cutting a few singles for Ubiquity Records' acclaimed but underexposed Rewind! compilations, PPP debuted their full-length Triple P in spring 2005 to favorable reviews. In the wake of Dilla's death early the following year, it was clear that Waajeed was still building on Dilla's legacy of Detroit-styled hip-hop soul, collaborating with local artists like Monica Blaire, Dwele, and Invincible (Cordor, 2010).
DJ Signify of Brooklyn, NY, first came to people's attention in the mid 90s with the infamous mixtape releases, "Signifyin' Breaks" and "Mixed Messages". Both ... efforts were universally cited for bringing a thrust of forward thinking where actual composition and hands on cut and paste techniques were the order of the day. During this time he was invited by Mr. Dibbs to join the legendary 1200 Hobos crew.
In 2004 Signify showcased a seamless transition into production with his debut album, "Sleep No More". The project featured Buck 65 and Sage Francis, narrating over Signify's minimalist beat landscape. The sounds evoked a dark and barren environment that inadvertently challenged the status quo of instrumental/independent hip hop. Subsequently, Signify has released a slew of 45's and toured /collaborated with the likes of everyone from Blockhead and Steinski to Joe Beats and GrandMaster Caz, to name a few.
Signify's latest release, "Of Cities", is his most evolved and realised record to date. Although he stays true to his hip hop core, there are a multitude of palatable influences ranging from Krautrock to Glitch to early 90's Hip hop to New Wave. Once again, he effortlessly nestles his drum-heavy signature style into new musical territory. Factor in two lead contributions by Aesop Rock and this album is sure to please fans of beats and beyond (RCRD LBL).
Born in San Jose, CA in 1979, Controller 7 (aka Tommy McMahon) spent his early years spinning G.I. Joes off of his Sesame Street record player, playing in the mud, and falling face first off his bike. After spending some quality time memorizing the lyrics to Run-D.M.C.'s "You Be Illin'," air drumming to mid '80s jams on MTV, and becoming obsessed with dubbing tapes, he started playing the drums in 1988.
Fast forward four impatient years later and the idea of lessons and proper technique have been abandoned for pause tape beats with drums and an out of tune player piano. Two or three years later the obsession becomes making mix-tapes with a belt-drive turntable, a cd player, no mixer, and a broken 8 track cassette receiver.
It wasn't until he was introduced to the Ensoniq EPS sampler that his music materialized into rough demo tapes. Although the tapes were made purely for his own enjoyment, the dream of pressing up a record was there. So when one of those demo tapes fell into the hands of Sole (who was starting the Anticon label) in 1998, things started to take shape. Requests for a beat or two soon turned into a series of budding friendships.
In 1999, while living in Berkeley, Controller 7 started working on the third of those demo tapes. The two week project ended up taking six months to finish, and after squeezing 4 track mix sessions in between classes and homework, "Left Handed Straw" was finally released in the Spring of 2000. A small scale hand-made cd, it was self-described as a mixtape of "soon to be lost beats and records". After receiving great reviews, it was professionally re-released, and helped earn Controller 7 the honor of being one of URB Magazine's NEXT 100 people to watch for the year 2002 (in the company of D-Styles, RJD2, Dabrye, FOG, and others).
Check out the "expansions" EP and the "Egg" EP to see what he has been up to lately (Controller 7).
Malcom Kipe (a.k.a. Skyler McGlothlin a.k.a. Nautilis) produces experimental breaks and instrumental hip hop, mainly for the soon-to-be-defunct American label Merck Records. McGlothlin has cut two proper 'albums' and a compendium of beats with Merck Recordings.
Austin, Texas based instrumental hiphop producer Malcolm Kipe is perhaps better known for his productions as Nautilis on Mike Paradinas’ Planet Mu label, and this second album from him under his own name emerges through Merck mere months after his debut offering ‘Beatspiracy Theories.’ In many senses, ‘Lit’ represents a direct continuation on from where ‘Breakspiracy Theories’ left off, and follows a very similar sonic trajectory, blending strong early nineties hiphop influences with an experimental electronic approach similar to the likes of Prefuse 73, DJ Shadow and DJ Vadim (Evilchris2, 2007).
Mike Slott is a nomadic soul and future-looking producer who's lived in Chicago, Glasgow, Dublin and now resides in Harlem, New York City. Mike is from a notable lineage of musical pioneers, with his father being the first major label jazz signing in Ireland. His brother was signed to Sony BMG at age 17, and even his cousin is an ex-member of Ireland's most successful golden-era hip hop group. He has released two 45's under his solo moniker on Dublin's hip hop cornerstone All City records, as well as four EP's along with maverick cohort Hudson Mohawke, and a collaboration with interstellar soul-searcher Muhsinah. This musical journeyman may wander off the well-worn path, but always manages to find his way home (Red Bull Music Academy, 2010).
He was but a young buck, wet behind the ears and not all that wise. But if Jeffery James Logan--Catholic-born Chicago son, one-time Chuck Berry enthusiast, junior high schooler- knew one thing, he knew that he needed to play the drums. If he knew another thing, it was that he wouldn't get to, no matter how much angsty teen protest or sullen-eyed brooding he put into the cause, because, well, some jock kid was in better with the gym teacher. So Jeff-the SP-1200 beatmachine master we now know as Jel-took up the coronet. Thankfully, the SP found Jel shortly after Christmas one high school year. He'd been helping elderly women pump gas as part of a long-term scheme to turn fuel into money into circuitry into sound. He still had the tapes from the year he fell in love with music-1989 radio broadcasts from 105.9 WGCI, The Rap Down with Franky J and Disco Dave-and had been desperately searching for a way to feed his intense attraction to beat-making ever since his first urges were denied. With cash clenched tightly in young fist, he marched to the nearest music store and happily bought the cornerstone of his entire sound: the SP-1200. Revenge on a gym teacher never felt so sweet. And Jel never looked back.
The next few years were spent mostly in two places. When Jel wasn't locked away in his room with his new mechanical love, he was helping out behind the scenes at Northwestern University's radio station. At home he'd cut, chop, record, and tap; on campus he'd pass his tapes along to local DJs and emcees that would stop by the station. Jel's friend and radio partner Kevin Beacham introduced him to the hip-hop that came before, the secrets of the drum machine (i.e. how to cheat to 10-second sample time), and -most importantly-a certain nasaltoned Cincinnati rapper who went by the name of Doseone. The rest of Jel's story is the beginning stages and steady fruition of an entire movement in sound. In 1996, he quit art school in favor of the chills. In 1998, his first collaborations with dose saw the light of day (Hemispheres). In January of 1999, the debut themselves LP was finished (them), and by Spring of the same year, work would begin on the seminal Deep Puddle Dynamics project. And from that record-which included Jel and Doseone, Sole and Alias of Portland, Maine's Live Poets, and Slug from Atmosphere-the concept of anticon was somewhere born.
Today Jel lives in the Oakland Bay Area with the same SP-1200 he purchased as a teen. They left the Midwest together in a concerted effort to defy genre with a collective of like-minded individuals and instruments. His crunchy punched-out beats and swells of low-bit atmospherics have become anticon trademarks, highly sought after by artists around the globe. Jel was one of the first, if not the very first musician to use the a drum machine in live performance like a drum kit with little to no sequencing. Using the pads on the drum machine, Jel plays each snare, bass kick, cymbal and loop with his fingers. And his raps ain't half bad either. To date, Jel's list of collaborators includes Can's Malcolm Mooney, Stephanie Bohm from Ms. John Soda, Mike Patton, Wise Intelligent of Poor Righteous Teachers, Black Thought of the Roots, DJ Krush, Mr. Dibbs, Sage Francis, Atmosphere, and just about the entire anticon roster, naturally. Jel is currently a member of themselves (with Doseone and Dax Pierson), Subtle (a cello-drumssamplers-guitar-keyboards-winds-and-words sextet on Lex Records), and 13+God (themselves and the Notwist). His second solo full-length is entitled Soft Money (Anticon).
Hailing from Southern California, Dayeve Xienze, real name Dayeve Masangcay is a skilled underground hip hop and trip hop disc jockey, who loves to make sample-based music with a touch of acoustic guitar and keyboard, ever since 1998. His music can be considered abstract, experimental, distinctive, eccentric, weird and wonderful. It can be categorize as trip hop, underground hip hop, turntablism, breakbeats, electronica, cinematic, avant garde, film score, and space age.
This blog is dedicated to my Trip-Hop, Downtempo, Electronica, Dubstep, and Underground Hip-Hop Instrumental Addicts.In this blog, I will be spotlighting a beat innovator from around the world each day. I will also provide the artist's bio, album releases, music videos and more.
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