Artist of the Day: Count Bass D

Some people DJ, others make beats. Heads everywhere spit lyrics—either off the dome or noted, and many are even recognized as true MC’s who actually manage to rock a crowd here & there. A few folks get by juggling two or more facets; and even a small number happen to be classically or self-taught piano players, drummers and strummers. Count Bass D does it all.

Count has been working to prove this since his decade-old debut, Pre-Life Crisis (Sony). Not only did he compose every note, pen lyrics, contribute the cuts and scratches—but he played most of the instruments (Last.fm, 2010).

You can listen to Count Bass D's music at:
http://www.last.fm/music/Count+Bass+D



Released Albums:
Count Bass D - Pre-Life Crisis
Count Bass D - Dwight Spitz
Count Bass D - Begborrowsteal
Count Bass D - 2006 (Some Music Part 2)
Count Bass D - Act Your Waist Size
Count Bass D - Ear Regardless (Some Music Part 3)
Count Bass D - L7 (Mid-Life Crisis)
Count Bass D - True Ohio Playas EP

Reference:
(2010). Count Bass D. Last.fm. Retrieved from http://www.last.fm/music/Count+Bass+D

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Artist of the Day: Dj Mitsu The Beats

In 2003, DJ Mitsu the Beats released his first, self-produced solo album New Awakening (Planetgroove), including fine cameos with artists from various places around the globe. The album showcases collaborations with Dwele, Little Brother, K-Otix, Lady Alma, Rich Medina, Mark De Clive Lowe, and many others. With the release of his first album, not to mention, the remix albums that followed, he has taken beat producing to higher levels, adjusting his sound scope for influences from all types of music. Mitsu delivers a vast range of musical genres, spanning from jazzy-soulful hip hop to broken beat to house and back to hip hop. He has found ways to bring these different genre’s together creating a very diverse repetoire that is certainly unique and one of a kind (Last.fm, 2010).

Feature:
Mitsu The Beats: Transnational Soul

Twenty-eight-year-old DJ and producer Mitsu the Beats hails from Japan’s wilder northern climes (Sendai in the Miyagi prefecture)–think snow monkeys and hot springs, not bullet trains and the world’s largest city. Nonetheless, his ruthlessly smooth hip-hop is as metropolitan as it gets. Balancing an ear for hooks reminiscent of ‘93 with the boundless, borderless skills of Japanese MCs and occasional forays into broken beat, Mitsu is fast becoming a global talent.

Growing up on his father’s Japanese soul music and what he called “standard jazz,” Mitsu found hip-hop as a youngster through a Japanese TV program. “It always featured a dance battle with new jack swing-type music–artists like Heavy D,” he recalls. Mitsu was hooked, eventually becoming a battle DJ and teaming up with 2002’s DMC world champion DJ Kentaro. His horizons expanded even further when he met Taro Kesen of Jazzy Sport Production, who at the time was licensing tracks for the British label Laws of Motion. Mitsu developed a taste for the broken beats of West London and it was some of those DJs and producers, plus tastemakers like Michael Reinboth (Compost) and Patrick Forge (Kiss FM), who in turn began to champion Mitsu’s production.

Mitsu says that he follows the basic formula for making hip-hop (“Listening to records, sampling and adding dope beats to samples”), yet his New Awakening LP (Planet Groove) is anything but formulaic. From the shimmering guitar that rests beneath Rich Medina’s rap on “Do Right” to the restless rim shots and bass synth that push forward “Fly Away” with Lady Alma, it’s clear that Mitsu has a special talent for adapting his production to the differing strengths of vocalists. Mitsu’s collaboration with Dwele, “Right Here,” features delicate-but-earthy singing from the Detroit soul vocalist and an unforgettable sax sample over gritty hip-hop beats ‘n’ bass–it’s guaranteed to fill floors, though it’s been two years since it started its rounds on CD-R. And watch out when his Japanese cohorts (like Hunger from Mitsu’s hip-hop group G.A.G.L.E.) get on the mic, because their whip-crack, hard-edged consonants are the perfect compliment to Mitsu’s extra-crispy beats.

As the forthcoming Planet Groove album of remixes, a planned G.A.G.L.E. full-length, and new 12”s for Jazzy Sport will show, DJ Mitsu’s Sendai style can hold its own against anything from L.A. or London. Despite all this, Mitsu maintains a healthy perspective, adding modestly, “Me? I’m just a hip-hop producer" (Nicholson, 2005).

You can listen to Dj Mitsu The Beats' music at:
http://www.last.fm/music/DJ+Mitsu+The+Beats



Released Albums:
Dj Mitsu The Beats - New Awakening
Dj Mitsu The Beats - A Word To The Wise
Dj Mitsu The Beats - Library Mixtape
Dj Mitsu The Beats - One More Roses Mixtape
Dj Mitsu The Beats - Another Roses Mixtape
Dj Mitsu The Beats - 28 Roses Mixtape
Dj Mitsu The Beats - The Excellence: Selected Works
Dj Mitsu The Beats - Self Titled Ep 1 and 2
Dj Mitsu The Beats - Blue Impressions Mixtape

Reference:

Nicholson, P. (2005, March 16). Mitsu The Beats: Transnational Soul. XLR8R. Retrieved from
http://www.xlr8r.com/features/2008/04/mitsu-beats-transnational-soul

(2010). Dj Mitsu The Beats. Last.fm. Retrieved from http://www.last.fm/music/DJ+Mitsu+The+Beats

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Artist of the Day: Sa-Ra Creative Partners

Sa-Ra Creative Partners is the trio of well accomplished musicians and producers, Om'Mas Keith, Taz Arnold and Shafiq Husayn. Sa-Ra arrived into scene after being previously signed to Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music label. Sa-Ra stands out from their music peers as they have that "uniqueness" in their sound as well as their unique fashion sense. Their sound comprises of jazz, soulful elements, electronica, Euro pop, synthesized space-age sounds blended with a pinch of hip-hop making them out of this world or "futuristic". Being high-profile producers, they have contributed remixes and collaborated with many artists in various genres in the music industry. With their success, they have ascended from the underground scene causing such an instant buzz which has boosted them into the limelight (Discogs, 2010).

You can listen to Sa-Ra Creative Partners' music at:
http://www.last.fm/music/Sa-Ra+Creative+Partners



Released Albums:
Sa-Ra Creative Partners - The Hollywood Recordings
Sa-Ra Creative Partners - Dark Matter and Pornography Mixtape
Sa-Ra Creative Partners - Sun Drums and Soil
Sa-Ra Creative Partners - The Second Time Around
Sa-Ra Creative Partners - Sonic Seduction Volume 1 and 2 Ep
Sa-Ra Creative Partners - The Decadent Dimensions Ep
Sa-Ra Creative Partners - Nuclear Evolution: The Age Of Love

Reference:
(2010). Sa-Ra Creative Partners. Discogs. Retrieved from
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Sa-Ra+Creative+Partners

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