You had me at "Wikki-wikki-wikki-wikki"

Back from a weekend of hiding (inside the apartment) from the burnt-out post-apocalyptic hellhole that is the San Fernando Valley. Seriously, between the heat and the smoke, it's like a scene from The Road around here right now. Google it...



London Funk Allstars were one of Ninja Tune's first batch of acts, and despite putting out two nice albums of sample-riffic Downtempo beats, they have done virtually nothing sense. I imagine that they followed their mums' advice and got sensible jobs doing peoples taxes or baking tasty pastries. That or they were kidnapped by Mongols. It's one or the other...

London Funk Allstars - Wikki's Revenge (ysi)

Pretty much any song with guy going "Wikki-wikki-wikki-wikki" is going to win me over, so LFAS had this one in the bag. Now, for my next trick, watch as I smoke a ham simply by setting it on my patio for an hour...

Smokey The Bear is finna eat some fools right about now.

In case you didn't know, L.A. is so on fire right now. I'm not talking about the music scene... this shit is on fire. The entire area has a ceiling of black smoke and the air smells like charcoal. Oh, and it's approximately a thousand fucking degrees outside. Delightful. But that has absolutely nothing to do with today's House Music Friday...



Soultourist are a group of four guys from Switzerland who are on the Compost-related label Drumpoet Community. And they have no interest in your petty international squabbles...

Soultourist - Wild Cats (ysi)

I'm not sure how that song is about cats, but I'll go with it. Have a great weekend and stay out of any infernos...

Headspins all around!

Break out your ghetto blasters and pieces of cardboard. It's breakin' time...



Yeah, I know... perhaps not the most original intro I could have thought of. But I bring to you a beginners' compilation today, so I'm keeping it simple. Simply (ha!) put, I've never seen a better intro to classic B-Boy Electro than this little two-discer put together by Freestylers. As in, if you wanted to turn a friend on to this music and had only one disc (or 2 in this case) to do it, this is where you start. Packed full of the most essential classics, including this one by Davy DMX, who also did a lot of producing for RUN-D.M.C., so there's your steez...

(DMCA'd? Really? Are these things just random now?)

Now show me some moves like these...



Or just buy me some clothes like that...

Can you ride the Hot Chocolatron?

Fuckin' pisser about Teddy Kennedy. Hopefully, Congress can honor his memory by passing a healthcare bill that doesn't suck...



With a name like Ben Wa, it's not terribly surprising that this act came from San Francisco. Boing! But seriously, people in San Francisco like to put things in their ass. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Anyhoo, I had forgotten that one of the members of this group was Butthouse from Limbomaniacs, who were a cool Funk/Rock group quite some time ago, and also got some contributions from the likes of Buckethead and Brain (who played drums for Primus for a minute). Weird, huh? Because this shit doesn't sound one tiny bit like any of that shit. It sounds like some fun-time Electo-Breakzzzez...

Ben Wa - Hot Chocolatron (ysi)

There were actually two Ben Wa albums, which is pretty good seeing how this cast of characters bounces around ADD-style between projects. And, um... that is the end of anything interesting I have to say today...

Throwing Backstreet to The Lions

I think I'll have to make it quick to today... The Backstreet Boys are in the building, and it's total pandemonium. It is also 1997...



Q: What happens when members of some of L.A.'s best funk bands (Orgone, Breakestra, The Rebirth and more!) get together and, for shits and giggles, decide to record a Reggae album?

A: The Lions happens. And it's pretty righteous indeed...

The Lions - Ethio-Steppers (ysi)

And today you get a YouTubes extra...



Okay, I'm gonna go throw some NSNYC gang signs and start some trouble... wish me luck...

In which I make dubious claims...

Hey, all... sorry I left you with no House Music Friday last week. I was posing for a pictorial in Playboy Magazine on Friday and just didn't have the time. I bet you think I'm kidding...



... but I'd say you gotta be kidding me that I've never once posted any Underworld on this blog. That is even more shocking than me hanging out with naked Playmates! 'Cause I do that every once in a while... anyhoo, if you need me to tell you who Underworld are, I have no idea what you're doing reading a blog dedicated to good music. Here's a remix of maybe their most amazing epic ever by some guys known as Futureshock... not a radical reworking by any means, it's almost like a re-edit with a couple new bits thrown in... and doesn't have the really long beatless intro, which makes it ace for mixing into a set....

Underworld - Cowgirl (Futureshock Remix) (ysi)

Stone cold certified all-time big-time TUNE! And I'll see you in the pages of December's Playboy...

Mummy Funk?

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you this week's contender for Worst Band Name in History...



Shahrokh Sound Of K? What. The. Fuck? Kind of sounds like the name of a mummy, doesn't it? Especially if you replaced "Sound" with "Son". Not that you would have a reason to do that, but I think you see my point. Or not. Anyhoo, shitty name. And it belies a real lack of effort on the part of everyone involved, i.e. Shahrokh... okay, that's his name, I get that part... and Andreas Kohler, who sometimes records as Sound of K... but I mean, couldn't you guys have taken 10 extra seconds to think of something less ass-tactular? At least the music's good... has to be to be released on Compost. Kind of the typical Compost mix... funky, vibey, a bit retro/a bit techno... me likey...

Shahrokh Sound Of K - Ilike (ysi)

Mummy Funk could be an interesting genre though... rock some Egyptian vibes in there... the vocals would be shit, though...



... that guy doesn't look like he can carry a tune, what with his being all decomposing for 3700 years and all... actually, he probably sounds like Tom Waits...

My next side project = Polka/Calypso fusion

Side projects are cool when they don't suck...



Lanu is the Kiwi guitarist and "bandleader" of Aussie Funk outfit The Bamboos, who you already know about. His real name is Lance... which is why he calls himself anything other than Lance. Now, I hate when someone from a band does a side project and it sounds exactly like the band they're in (most every Rock side project ever) or sounds completely different and sucks ass (most every other non-Rock side project by a rocker ever), so I'm quite pleased to say Lanu turns in The Bamboos' old-school Funk for some shiny new Broken Beat/Nu Jazz gear. The vocals on this one are very nice and handled by fellow Kiwi Cherie Mathieson, and the label is Tru Thoughts, because of course it is...

Lanu - Runaway (ysi)

I know, what you're saying... you're saying why hate on the Rock side projects, Tone? I say to you The Honeydrippers, The Fireman, Audioslave and pretty much everything Perry Farrell's ever done that's not Jane's Addiction for starters...

P.S. I shall call my band A-Polka-Lypso

Sub-par comedy, Above-average tune

I'm not feeling particularly funny today. Don't get me wrong, I'm not sad or anything... I just can't think of any good jokes... ask the people who read my Twitter. Weak sauce. I compared Brett Favre to Barbra Streisand! Bet nobody else thought of that! So anyhoo...



Sa-Ra Creative Partners are a group of weirdos from Los Angeles who make the kind of out-there R&B/Hip-Hop I've talked about before, and quite frankly I wasn't very funny that day either. Hmmm. This rather fast-paced little number packs a lot of story into 2:25, and this Rozzi Daime girl on the vocals seems a little batshit crazy, too... so good times all around...

Sa-Ra Creative Partners - Tracy (ft. Rozzi Daime) (ysi)

Big fan of that buzzy synth-bass sound. I'll try to get more hilarious for tomorrow...

Monday man-love

Are you ready for some Monday man-love? Because guess who's released another compilation...



Yep, it's Gilles Peterson's Brownswood label with it's 4th installment of Bubblers. I haven't even gotten all the way through it yet, but I was particularly excited to see this track on it after hearing Gilles play it on the radio show a couple months back and furiously, fruitlessly searching for it ever since. Souleance are a couple of French dudes who I've not heard of before, but if they keep putting out stuff like this... I'd what? I'd have heard of them then? Way to type some shit that makes no sense, Tone...

Souleance - Manana (ysi)

A cuica will get bonus points from me every single time, folks. I'm going to go bake Gilles a cake now...

Oaken-what? Oh. Okay. You're cool.

It's hard to believe that the Musica Del Scorcho mix changed the way you think about auto insurance just one week ago today, but it's true. What? You haven't downloaded it yet? Ok, I'll wait...

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Good. Now that that's out of the way, it's time for House Music Friday...



Ski Oakenfull has a couple of things working against him. First, his name's way too close to a certain DJ whose face is carved into Mt. Douchemore. And second, he's quite strongly associated for Acid Jazz, having played with Galliano and Incognito, two of the three Acid Jazz bands that existed. BUT! On his own productions, the guy has turned out some really good Deep House and Broken Beat gear, including this borderline classic...

Ski Oakenfull - Fifths (ysi)

So in the end, dude is cool with me. You can pick this baby up for something like fitty cent on Amazon right now, and that's a bigger bargain than even Geico... have a great weekend and drive safe...

A new flavor of Juice

You know what makes any day better? An Oran "Juice" Jones cover!



And this one comes courtesy of David Byrne's World Music label Luaka Bop and Brazilian-flavored NYC band Si*Se. Oh, and also British producers Funky Lowlives. All sorts of folks involved. And it's the kind of cover you gotta love... one that takes the original in new and unexpected directions...

Si*Se - The Rain (Funky Lowlives Remix) (ysi)

I think I might even like that better than the original... let's check the YouTubes... oh, wait... Universal Music Group "disabled embedding". That is some bullshit. In that case, I definitely like this one better. See what happens, major record labels? You don't just shoot yourselves in the foot, you shoot your legs clean off...

Chicks dig the low end

Today, one of the most excellently named songs I can think of...



If you believe Interwebs sites such as Bitchfork, the Dub Techno is all the rage these days. And that's all well and good, but I wonder if the kids know about this album here... the one that invented the genre.* Renegade Soundwave weren't even really Techno artists. They were sort of an Industrial/Electronic act somewhere between Meat Beat Manifesto and The Shamen. Except, of course, for this record, in which they invented Dub Techno. So suck on that...

Renegade Soundwave - Women Respond To Bass (ysi)

Here's what they sounded like the rest of the time...



* I have absolutely no information to back up this claim, nor can I be arsed to look for it. But I bet I'm pretty freakin' close to correct. This is from 1990, folks!

John Mayer is a douche. Plus music!

John Mayer is a gigantic douche. More on that in a minute...



Ubiquity Records sub-label Luv & Haight digs up some of the funkiest rare nuggets you can imagine, and this here compilation is chock full of 'em. Inner City Records was a tiny Bay Area label that put out big Funk. And yes, apparently I'm writing this post in the form of hacky promotional copy. I do so because I have no freaking idea who United Soul Association are, and neither do you. This one starts out with a "train on the tracks" sample, which I've so never heard before, but if you wait it out it develops into a monster... "Rarrr! Funk Smash!"

United Soul Association - Sticky Boom Boom (ysi)

Heavy business, indeed. Okay, I'm off to see if John Mayer is still embarrassing himself by trash-talking on Chelsea Lately on his Twitter. In the battle of wits, dude is bringing a toothpick to a swordfight. Toodles...

Miles tries "the new shit"

Before we begin this week's festivities, I must first order you to go and download the new Musica Del Scorcho mix. It will instantly make your life 30% more sabroso...



Once a year around here I gotta drop some Miles Davis. It's in the by-laws. Hell, you could do an all-Miles blog and no one would complain. Well, unless they didn't like Miles. But that's impossible. Anyhoo, this one comes from his "Rock & Roll" period... I could go into more detail, but this article does so in a much more informed fashion than I could, and even contains some profanity so you'll feel right at home...

Miles Davis - Little High People (Take 7) (ysi)

Actually the author of that article didn't think this track was very good, but then again I think the author of that article has a stupid face that wants to be punched. Still a good read, though...

Musica Del Scorcho

Ola, everyone! And welcome to the 700th post of the Tonegents Interwebs Music Blog & Friday Fish Fry. I'm frankly shocked that anyone reads this crap, but with well over 125,000 page views now, obviously there are a lot of folks out there that have extremely low standards and/or nothing better to do. So here's a mix for you to waste some more time listening to...

You may not be able to tell from looking at the song titles, but this mix has a bit of a Latin angle to it. From vintage Fania Salsa, through Boogaloo, Descarga, Latin Funk and right on into some of the newest Broken Beat biznezz, we're gonna stop in Puerto Rico, Cuba, Panama, Colombia and even Belize, wherever the hell that is. (Just kidding.) Expect ridiculous horn charts, guys in matching suits singing in high voices and enough freaking cowbell to satisfy Christopher Walken himself... this is sabor caliente! Possibly. I don't know a damn word of Spanish. Hope none of these songs are about raping kittens...

Tonegent presents "Musica Del Scorcho"

(Continuous Mix - 68:32 - 94.12Mb @ 192kps)


1) Eddie Palmieri & His Conjunto - Conmigo
2) Willie Colon - Abuelita
3) Fruko Y Sus Tesos - Improvisando
4) Jesus Acosta & The Professionals - Guajida
5) Los Superiores - Descarga Superior
6) The Latinaires - Creation
7) Tempo 70 - El Galleton
8) The Ray Camacho Group - Si Se Puede
9) Roberto Roena - Que Se Sepa
10) Bwana - La Jurumba
11) Los Fabulosus Festivals - El Mensaje
12) Juan Pablo Torres Y Algo Nuevo - Y Viva La Felicidad
13) Ray Barretto - The Soul Drummers
14) Quantic And His Combo Barbaro - Mambo Los Quantic
15) Deadline Vs Batacumbele - Batacumbele
16) Afronaut - Golpe Tuyo Calinda
17) Novalima - Tumbala
18) Tito Puente - Machito Forever (Cut Chemist Remix)


Enjoy!

Hey look, more Dubstep!

Sometimes I have no interesting information to go along with the tunes. This is indeed one of those times...



Today, some hot Dubstep wax from LD, who's um, a Dubstep guy. That's really all I can say about him. Read the bio... boooooor-ing. But the music isn't, and that's what counts...

LD - Traumatic Times (ysi)

You'll never guess where I heard that one. And by never I mean you'll guess "Gilles Peterson" and I'll say "Of course!" and you'll say "Wow, didn't see that coming... why don't you just marry the guy?" and I'll say "Maybe I already have!" and then I'll stop for a second and realize how creepy that sounds and stop typing...

House Music... Wednesday? WTF?

Since House Music Friday is being pre-empted this week, here's a House song on Wednesday... I hope that doesn't fuck you up too much...



French producer Pepe Bradock has been around for quite some time now and put out a tidy little library of pretty decent stuff, the best track of which, in my humble yet all-knowing opinion was Deep House classic "Deep Burnt", the one that sampled Freddie Hubbard's version of "Little Sunflower". If you don't know that one, find it. I'll wait...

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Dope, huh? Anyhoo, Mr. Bradock, if that is his real name (and it's not) has put out a new collection of his remix work and it's quite tasty. Here, he takes Iz & Diz's Deep House classic (it's a classic kinda day) "Mouth", the one made of all vocal samples & beatboxery, and does his thang...

Iz & Diz - Mouth (Brad Peep's Remix For Friends) (ysi)

(None of the f@#!* Interwebs players want to work today, but you can listen here, if you don't trust me. And really, you should trust me by now.)



Pretty genius, that one. Just listened to it again myself. Still love it. Kinda like if Akufen were a beat-boxer. Word.

Why you should never move to France

Today, an act rescued from obscurity by the art of sampling...



Lafayette Afro Rock Band has grown to legendary status in the age of sampling, but from what I've read, nobody actually gave a shit while they were still active. I would like to think it's because the New Yorkers decided to move and base themselves in France and when I think of the words "France" and "Funk", one thing comes to mind. Nasty, smelly, funky cheese. And nasty, smelly, funky cheese does not make me feel like dancing. So really, bad move with the France thing, guys. Good thing for you everyone from Public Enemy to Jay-Z has sampled your stuff, because the cheese stigma is gone, replaced with the knowledge that this was one of the funkiest bands, oh... ever...

Lafayette Afro Rock Band - Congo (ysi)

Can't recommend this collection enough, kids. Cop it now! And SPOILER ALERT! Something hot is dropping Friday, and I'm not talking about my pants...

That's Edutainment

Hey it's Monday! Shit.



I suppose that posting on Boogie Down Productions would give me yet another chance to rail on about how Hip-Hop sucks these days... but I don't need to do that. Just listen to the radio. Anyhoo, BDP was certainly a bit of an eye-opener for a small-town white boy like yours truly when I first heard it. Lyrically, KRS-One, well... he was on a bit more serious tip than the other folks I was listening to at the time, people like LL Cool J... LL needed love, Kris Parker needed to stick his foot up Whitey's ass. Thing was, KRS's lyrics were so good, they made me want to stick my foot up Whitey's ass, too... which was indeed a very confusing state of affairs...

Boogie Down Productions - Why Is That? (ysi)

So yes, this is what I was listening to while my classmates were rocking Bon Jovi on the bus. Explains a lot, eh?