A Late Easter Egg

A little ditty I made on Easter Sunday whilst gnawing the ears off a chocolate bunny or twelve...



Enjoy!

That's MISTER Scruff to you, Sparky...

Hey look, it's a new tune by the man, the myth, the Mr. Scruff! And it's quite different from what you'd expect... kinda moody, even. Quite good, though. Dig it...



And if ya wanna follow one person the social medias... this is the man. He regularly posts up recordings of his genius 5-hour DJ sets and they are stellar. Do it...

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... then after that, check out the latest episode of the podcast. It's only one hour, but also stellar... -ish.

Shuffleupagus Radio Ep. 18 by Shuffleupagus Radio on Mixcloud

"And if you see your mom this weekend, be sure and tell her SATAN! SATAN! SATAN! SATAN!"

Satan... that guy. Love him or hate him, you know that if he shows up at the party it's gonna be interesting. He's not just gonna stand in the corner holding up the wall. He's going to summon Hitler up from Hell and have him do 10 minutes of standup about airplane food (which kills, btw)... or he's gonna possess your co-worker from Accounting and have her running around naked, speaking in tongues and a pleasuring herself with your Wii controller (also entertaining if a bit awkward)... or maybe he just gets super high and you all roll into the studio and make some tunes. And that last one is what I think happened with to my man Sebastian Ciceri... or at least I hope so. Because his new album EEZ ZEE FRUU-EEETS OF ZEE DE-VEEEEEEL! If I was some sort of fancy "music blogger", I might describe the sound as "Post-Rock with healthy doses of Electronica and Jazz", but FRUU-EEETS OF ZEE DE-VEEEEEEL is way more interesting. Dig it...



And my man also made this sexy little video for the title track...



So go buy yourself a copy of this bad boy right now. IT WILL ONLY COST YOU YOUR SOUL! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I was hoping it was Kurt Russell in costume...

Never heard of this DJ Snake dude until I happened across this past Friday's BBC Essential Mix, which he, um... mixed. Turns out, not Kurt Russell. Just some French guy. Sigh. But apparently the guy was handpicked by Skream & Benga as one to watch. And if this fan-fucking-tastic remix of AlunaGeorge is any indication, those guys know what they're talkin' about...



Yeah, I might even prefer that to the original, which I quite dig. And I hope YOU dig the latest radio show. It's a way more atmospheric trip than the last few...

Shuffleupagus Radio Ep. 15 by Shuffleupagus Radio on Mixcloud

Kudos to Daft Punk for owning the Grammys, btw... ok, them and Pharrell's hat.

Gettin' his redneck on?

So how does a relatively unknown little jazz trio from Raliegh, NC get some shine from a high-falutin' musical publication as this one? Well, when you're The Hot At Nights, you get yourself a remix by the man like Nicolay is how. How did this hook-up take place? Well, because Nicolay lives in NC now, which, weird, but hey... whatever floats yer boat, dude. As long as you keep making amazing music, it's all good in whatever hood...



The new Foreign Exchange record is stupid good, by the way... and so is the new Shuffleupagus...

Shuffleupagus Radio Ep. 14 by Shuffleupagus Radio on Mixcloud

A Not-So-Amazing Review of An Amazing Show

For a low-to-mid level music blogger, I go out to surprisingly few shows. Chalk it up to the fact that I'm old and spend most of my time TELLING THOSE GODDAMN KIDS TO GET OFF MY LAWN! But I actually made it out last Saturday a couple weeks ago, and it was a good one...





Yeah, fucking Bonobo. Holy shit. An act that's basically one dude plus vocalists in the studio throws down live with a something like 12 piece band including a horn section, string section, live drummer... all of which were, let's just say, fucking good at music. It's taken so long to get this post up that I won't try to give you a detailed review. It was just a mesmerising display of stellar musicianship. Let's just say that if you have the chance to see this show and miss it, YOU ARE BAD AT LIFE!

Bonobo - Emkay (ysi)

I wanted to take some video of my own, but I was way too out-of-my-mind stoned from this teeeeny-tiiiiny little pot brownie my friend gave me.


"It's waffer theen!"

I actually forgot it was possible to get that high off the weed. And of course after I tell you about the huge band I'm gonna post a vid of the one song that he plays practically by himself. You're used to that kind of thing from this blog by now, I'd imagine... But anyhoo... Holy moly. Good times. And apparently everyone else there was too fucked up to shoot anything as well, because I can't find a damn thing from the L.A. show on YouTube. So here's a clip from Boston, where it seems that their lighting rig was a little less LED-riffic, but still...



So basically, my entire review of the concert is "It was very good". You're welcome, world.

Geezer Gettin' Down

So this one is kinda cool...



You wouldn't normally expect a 60+ year-old Jazz man to hook up with a young Electronic producer and make something good, let alone worthy of a label like Tru Thoughts. But that's exactly what British saxman Larry "Stonephace" Stabbins (awesome last name, btw) did in 2009. The DJ is one Krzysztof Oktalski, who doesn't really have much else on his resume... but the product is dope, dope, dope. Dig it...

Stonephace - Rotor (ysi)

Here's some not-great-quality video from the live version...



You go, old guy...

Better than a glass of grass juice.

My new place is right across the street from a Whole Foods. I went over there for a breakfast snack this morning. They don't have donuts, but they have hemp bagels. The fuck is wrong with these people?



Now, I know what you're thinking... you're thinking with a band name like Organic Grooves, you're in for some hippie-dippie fuckin' Sound Tribe Sector 9-type bullshit, amiright? Some Whole Foods Gluten-Free Funk, if you will. You would be pretty likely to avoid it like a grainy soy tube vegan "hot dog". But I'm here to tell you, that would be a mistake! Because despite the unfortunate name, these guys put out four or five QUALITY records as the flagship act of the NYC-based Codek label/collective a few years back. Basically a rotating cast of characters, many of which who ultimately folded into the Turntables On The Hudson camp, their combination of dirty live sounds and smooth electronic beats and bobs was a true example of how to do it right...

Organic Grooves - Caveman Cum Spaceman (ysi)

The Organic Grooves records are a challenge to find these days... EVEN I THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TONE(!) have never found even a digital copy of the first. Someone wanna help a brother out?

Willfully Obscure (And It Feels So Good)

Bloggers like me love when they can give you something we can be almost certain that you probably haven't heard before. Makes us feel all special and deep and shit. So here's one now..



The Grassy Knoll was a '90s Jazz/Downtempo outfit headed by exotically-named multi-instrumentalist Bob Green. And they're a good example of what happened in the late '90s when people who played real instruments started dabbling with Downtempo Electronica. In a good way, though. Some would hear that description, think Acid Jazz, and rightly run away. There were a lot of failed attempts at this sound, to be sure, what with all sorts of tepid beats and meaningless noodling. But this stuff has a nice, dark edge and funkiness to it. Dare I say, slept on. Dig it...

The Grassy Knoll - 1961 (ysi)

So score one for your iTunes collection and one for my sense of self-importance. WIN/WIN BABY!

Make your "O" face...

Consider this an early Christmas present...



... courtesy of the man, the myth, the Sebastian Ciceri... a sultry, cinematic soudtrack for sexytime. Enjoy...

Sebastian Ciceri presents O-Mix 4

More presents coming very soon... have a good weekend!

Spanning The Globe!

And now for the greatest England/Japan collaboration since Bond & Odd Job...



It is between British Downtempo producer Kidkanevil, who's got a couple of nice albums already in the ol' collection, and Japanese dude Daisuke Tanabe, who I'd not heard of before, under the name Kidsuke. See what they did there? Clever, huh? Here in L.A. buildings like to do that when they're on the corner of two streets, so you end up with horrible names like the Laurelbev and the Melcox. Do they do that in other cities, or is L.A.'s lack of creativity just that pervasive? Discuss. Anyhoo, this is a very distinct sounding record... lots of tinkly toy-ish sounds matched with deep bass and off-kilter beats. Me likey...

Kidkanevil & Daisuke Tanabe - MoOoOoOn (ysi)

Now I just await the collaboration between Evel Knievel and Daisuke Matsuzaka, to make a reference absolutely no one who ever reads this will get. GOODNIGHT CLEVELAND!

Invitation To Creepytown

Aren't ya lovin' this new once-a-week format? Yeah, I know. Pretty shitty. But what can I say, yo, SHIT BEEN CRAAAAAAAY....



Visioneers is a "studio project" by Marc Mac of the mighty 4Hero... but despite that, this sound like it could be on an Air record. Which is not a bad thing. But yeah, something about the title of this song makes me a bit uncomfortable...

Visioneers - Come And Play In The Milky Night (ysi)

You know what I mean? I mean, like, what if your uncle walked up and said that to you? Or the clerk at 7/11? NOW you see what I mean! Have a good weekend...

Are you doing it wrong?

Remember last week when I said I'd do better this week? I guess I meant next week. But anyhoo...



There are few examples in the music industry today of people doing in right to the extent that Mr. Derek Vincent Smith, aka Pretty Lights is doing it right. Dude started out most likely in his bedroom, but put all his music out (to this day) for free, worked on his live show and built a following to the extent that he is now a major headliner playing for thousands. Without ever selling a single tune. Relying on talent and internet exposure. SUCK ON THAT RECORD LABELS! YOU DMCA-HAPPY FUCKS! YOU'LL ALL BE GONE SOON! JUST LIKE POLIO! And then they'll be replaced by guys like this, who, wait for it... has now started his own record label... one that gives all the music out for free (w/ optional donation, a.k.a the Radiohead model.) So here's one of the first batch of artists on Pretty Lights Music, a dude who goes by the name SuperVision. Sounds not unlike Pretty Lights, which I suppose is not terribly surprising... but certainly good enough to stand up on it's own. Dig...

SuperVision - Time Has Written (ysi)

If you like that (and you do), go to Pretty Lights Music, grab that sucka and check out the other fine wares on offer. Then go to the shows and support. It's the future of the music industry. Get wise or just keep doing it wrong and buying whatever musical flotsam is available at Wal-Mart... it's your choice. Have a good weekend...

The Donger Need Tunes!

Too busy trying to master the trampoline for my 2016 Olympics bid, so quickly...



DJ Cam returns to Tonegents, again, this time with his Inlove project, which appears to be him with chicks singing. Which is nice...

DJ Cam presents Inlove - Real (ysi)

I'M COMING FOR YOU, DONG DONG! AND HELL'S COMING WITH ME!

Take This Dubstep Remix And Shove It

Still pissed about my Mediafire being raped. Pretty soon all I'll be able to do is post submissions... so it's a good thing I've been getting some nice music sent my way. I've also been getting Dubstep remixes of Florence & The Machine sent my way, and can I just say right now... no. Don't send me that shit. Ever. Send me original music and send it to the Facebook page, not the Twitter. DO NOT send me remixes. The Hype Machine is so full of shitty, amateurish Dubstep/Fidget House remix bollocks that it makes me want to pull my hair out. SO IT'S A GODDAMN GOOD THING I DON'T HAVE ANY, BECAUSE THAT WOULD PROBABLY FUCKING HURT! Anyhoo... got sent this little gem from Halifax, Nova Scotia producer Jami Gaudet, aka Wet Paint. Sounds that would be right at home on Ghostly or Brainfeeder. Dig it...



Actually this one's out on the excellently named Bad Panda label, which is the home of another record I've been digging lately... by tennis-obsessed producer Indian Wells. Dig it, part deux...



Definitely two artists and one label to watch. Unless you're really into Dubstep remixes of Florence & The Machine, in which case, PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT!

Oh, and I won't just be posting submissions, of course... but the tune choices may start to lean toward the more willfully obscure side from now on. Which should be fun...

Comedy Gold

Here's a nice, obscure one for ya...



Track & Field was/is NY session guy/recording engineer Mark Kohler doin' his own damn thing... which was nice, funky, groovy jams with lots of real instruments. He put out two records on the Codek label, and this is from the second...

Track & Field - It's A Business (ysi)

You may have noticed there wasn't a joke there. So here's one now...

Knock, Knock!
Who's there?
Cows go.
Cows go who?
No, cows go moo!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

Visit Mauritius!

Tonegents is about to teach you up on some geography, fool...



Anybody ever heard of Mauritius? No, it's not the first name of an NBA draft pick, it's a tiny island country in the Indian Ocean somewhere in the vicinity of Madagascar. Actually it looks like a pretty fucking fabulous place to visit if you check out their website. That's not even a joke. And it's also the country, thanks to one of it's residents having sex with someone a few years back, that brings us the producer known as Mo Kolours. His sound could be straight out of the L.A. beat scene, which has absolutely nothing to do with Mauritius, but I don't really know what else does have to do with Mauritius, so... (shrugs)...

Mo Kolours - Talking Move (ysi)

By the way, I seriously wasn't kidding. This place looks rad. Check it out...



So who's gonna buy me a ticket?

Orbiting Madge's Vadge

Hey hey hey! Let's start the day by me telling you that yet another classic Tonegents DJ mix has been uploaded to the Mixcloud, this one full of summer jams. Go get you some...



I'm not sure what folks think about William Orbit anymore... but in the early '90s, homeboy was on fire. And the hottest part of that was the Strange Cargo series of albums, of which this was the last. Even though those records weren't huge commercial hits, they established his steez enough so that Madonna would pick him to produce Ray Of Light, which (I believe we can all agree) is pretty much the last decent thing she ever did. Now I know that sounds mean, but Madonna should be happy for any praise she can get the way things have been going lately. Hell, the woman fucked Jose Canseco, Vanilla Ice and Dennis Rodman, so I think she should just be glad she's alive and not one big Herpe. But this is about William Orbit, right? I think so. Oh, look, a William Orbit song. It must be, then...

Strange Cargo - Hulaville (ysi)

But all talk of the old spinster's vagina aside, William Orbit's Strange Cargo albums are among the best of early '90s Electronica and are highly recommended. So go find 'em...

Land of the Rising Nutbags

Busy-ass week. Not to be confused with a busy ass week. That's something maybe Kim Kardashian has (that and the herpes). The hyphen makes all the difference, you see? Anyhoo, we pick back up on the international vibe with this...



As we've discussed before, no one does batshit crazy quite as well as the Japanese, and today's record is no exception to that rule. There's not a whole lot of info out there (not in English anyway) on drummer Takeshi Inomata, so I'll just let this funky Free Jazz/Prog Rock weirdness speak for itself. Literally. There's some dude that just keeps rambling on in Japanese. Who knows what the fuck he's talking about... probably Pokemons or some shit. You laugh... you say "Pokemons weren't even invented in 1971"... but you never know with these people. They're fucking batshit, I tells ya...

Takeshi Inomata - Blue (ysi)

Now you may, after listening, say that wasn't all that crazy, but it's easily the most normal song on the record. This is not a bad thing, just be warned...

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And now, on a totally unrelated note, here's another bonus submission from the Facebook page. One Era is a project of Mr. Matt Coogan & friends from sunny Philadelphia. Lush Downtempo Electro-Pop with dude vocals. A lot going on in this one. Me likey...



Keep 'em coming folks... as long as they don't suck.

Introducing The Cutler

It's always pretty exciting when one of the artists I post about actually drops by and leaves a comment on the site. Bassnectar was super-stoked that I posted his tune. Bigga Bush and Tim "Love" Lee were both chuffed that someone was still bangin' some of their old classics, etc... but here I have a first for you, as a couple of guys I have massive respect for actually hit me with some (relatively) exclusive, unreleased tunes! Big day, people. Big day...



The Cutler are Steve Cobby of Downtempo legends (and Tonegents faves) Fila Brazilia and the mystery man who revealed himself to me only as "Pork"... whose real name I shall not divulge, but you may have heard of Pork Recordings so we'll leave it at that. If you haven't... here. So yeah, not the usual "Hey dude, check out my crappy music" that I often get. I'm not saying everything I get sent is crap, I'm saying everything YOU send me is crap. See the subtle difference there? But I kid, dear readers. I kid. Anyhoo, this is most certainly not crap. It's about exactly what you'd expect knowing the steez of the folks involved... eclectic, funky, deep, atmospheric goodness of the first order. This shit will give you an ear-boner, I'm tellin' ya. And you know where you can put that. From the forthcoming The Best Things In Life Aren't Things on the excellently named Steel Tiger label, here's a couple from The Cutler...

The Cutler - That's What I Feel Inside (ysi)

The Cutler - Burn The Bankers (ysi)

You may also want to check out their Soundcloud which has some more downloadable goodness for ya, and their Facebook to make with the liking. AND BUY THE DAMN ALBUM WHEN IT COMES OUT! Cheers...