Patchin' It Up

A saxomaphone/clarinet player, a tuba player and two drummers. Acoustic. Rocking an Afro/Caribbean Jazz vibe. That's interesting. That's also Sons Of Kemet, the latest project involving Mr. Tom Skinner, who's quickly becoming a favorite around here. Now, I should probably give you an original, but this remix, by Brownswood operative Alex Patchwork happens to be available for free download. Do I look out for you kids or what? Enjoy the Acoustic Afrobeat Dubstep (you heard me) vibe...



And here's where I tell you to check out Shuffleupagus Radio, an important part of any nutritious breakfast.

Da Plattas Dat Matta

One of my all-time faves in the Groovy-Ass Latin/African/Broken Beats That Make My Pants Happy genre, Da Lata has just released a new album. Huzzah! Grab this free sample, then go out and buy that shit...



Also, Shuffleupagus Radio is now rollin' five episodes deep, so don't sleep...

It's The Newwwww Styyyyyyyle!

So, in an effort to get more posts in, I'm gonna go with a simplified Soundcloud vibe for a while. As much as I love the format I've kept to on this blog for six years now, the internet powers that be keep making it less easy for me to roll like that. It's like they don't want you to give away their music for free anymore, WTF?!? Plus those old posts took a good long time to put together, what with all the links and HTMLs and hoohahs and geegaws... and I quite frankly just don't have the time for that shit these days. I think the ever-dwindling post count speaks to that. And even though I'm all super-focused-on and vehemently encourage you to get on board with Shuffleupagus Radio, because it's gonna be fuckin' awesome, I just can't let the original Tonegents page go away completely. So I'm gonna save the traditional randomness for the radio show and redirect Tonegents to hip you to my current obsessions. And here's one now. You're not gonna hear me rave about new Jazz vocalists too often (with the exception of my boy Jose James), but damn... this Gregory Porter cat is the truth. Dig it...



So stick around... we'll still have some fun up in here. And dick jokes, of course. There will always be dick jokes...

Cross one off the list

Another amazing show in DTLA this past Friday...



Jose James has has long been a favorite around here and until Friday was near the very top of the list of artists I've desperately wanted to see live but haven't. (Currently also near the top of that list... Fat Freddy's Drop, Beardyman and Portico Quartet to name a few...) And lemme tell you, when I finally got the chance, the man did not disappoint. I wouldn't have thought that the dude's voice could actually be even BETTER live, but damn... just damn. His tight-ass band brought an extra level of energy to the tracks from his new album No Beginning No End... and don't even get me started about the Bill Withers tribute. There can't be too many humans alive that can do Bill justice, but Jose is one of them. Damn. Here's a tune played Friday...

Jose James - Vanguard

And now some video, this one featuring a solo from fantastic trumpet man Takuya Kuroda, who has his own album upcoming on Blue Note. I'll be keeping an eye out for that one...



Don't ya wish you were there? (Hint: You do.)

MDCL DTLA

Would you believe I actually made it out to another show? Me neither, but behold...



One of the cool things about L.A. is the amount of great free shows in public places that pop up every summer. There's a bunch of venues around town that host their own little series and the California Plaza's yearly Grand Performances slate is easily one of the best. This year, it kicked of with a pretty unique show featuring the ever-funky Mr. Mark de Clive-Lowe and a couple of cohorts (on drums and saxamaphone) improvising a soundtrack to a montage of classic Sci-Fi movie scenes... everything from Metropolis to The Matrix. The sound was atmospheric, jazzy & electronic, and even though it didn't always totally jibe with what was going on up on the screen (as you would expect "soundtrack" music to do) it was a pretty darn nice way to spend a warm Friday evening. Here's a taste...



So that was fun. They said he was reprising this show a little later this summer somewhere else in L.A. that I don't remember at a date I don't recall. You are welcome for that bounty of information. Anyhoo, it wouldn't be a Tonegents post without a tune, so here's one from 2005's Tide's Arising album that gives you some of Mark's usual sound, in case you didn't already know...

Mark de Clive-Lowe - Slide (ysi)

I feel like such a dazzling urbanite when I go to stuff like this... BECAUSE I AM!

Who you callin' fat? Look at me, I'm Skinny...

Sorry for the long wait since the last post... I was busy with a large taxidermy project. Hey man, that orca's not gonna stuff itself...



Hello Skinny is a "solo" project by London multi-instrumentalist Tom Skinner (See what he did with the name there? Clever-ish!), who is cool because he plays drums for artists ranging from Matthew Herbert to Mulatu Astatke... and that, you must agree, is a pretty freakin' wide range. I wanna say they're like a darker Portico Quartet...

Hello Skinny - Knot Blue (ysi)

And here's an interview/performance which is quite interesting...



I'm gonna go ahead and give myself bonus points for the Digital Underground reference today. Because I can give myself bonus points. I just gave myself even more just now...

Blog-achella-geddon 2012! Thundercat is go.

So I got a second submission on the Facebook page and I'm happy to say that we are two-for-two in the not sucking department. Good show, people. Now, I cannot support this band name, but the tune ain't bad at all. Here's... wait for it... Ballerina Black. Told ya...

And hey holy shit this thing starts next weekend...

Thundercat



Who he is: Mr. Steven Bruner, FlyLo associate and bad-ass bass player...

What he sounds like: He's another one of the guys on the jazzier end of the Brainfeeder crew... much like Austin Peralta, who I saw live this summer in one of those odd occurences in which I actually go out in public. OLD. I'm just, like, really busy, man... anyhoo, I'm also not sure this is the best song on his debut album, but I gotta love the baseball card reference...

(THIS POST APPEARS TO HAVE MADE DMCA'D. HEY THUNDERCAT, MAKE SURE TO THANK YOUR RECORD LABEL FOR FUCKING YOU.)

What I think: Groovy shit and I like his look. Here's an example of the bass bad-assery I was speaking of earlier...



Back from vacation next week. We'll see how that goes...

Let's just get this thing up...

I'm just gonna post this one up without the usual banter as it's been sitting around half-written for three weeks...



It's some smooth vocal Soul Jazz from L.A. singer Dwight Trible on a very vintage '70s tip. Spiritual and shit. Dig it...

Dwight Trible - Footprints (ysi)

Back to normal tomorrow, for realsies...

Motion in the Ocean

We gots a good one today...



I am very impressed with this record by Submotion Orchestra out of Leeds, UK. It's the perfect update of the sound Morcheeba, Zero 7 and all those other cats were turning not long ago updated with the influence of, of all things, Dubstep(!). I'd been finding myself wondering not long ago if people were just done making that kind of stuff or if it had just run it's course... well here's your answer. Dig how this goes from a Broken Beat vibe into a heavy Dub/Dubstep thing at the end, all the while keeping the atmosphere chilly-chill and all tied together with the vocal. I'm so impressed I haven't even made a dick joke in this post yet and that, my friends, is saying something...

Submotion Orchestra - Secrets (ysi)

And how about a 20+ minute live mini-set video of some kind? Don't mind if I do...



Yes indeed, we have a new fave 'round here. Welcome, Submotion Orchestra, to the Tonegents, um... Circle? Group?... of Bands We Like... Alot. Or something. Don't really have an official name for it. So... just welcome, I guess...

The Ol' Bait-n-Switch

I know it's House Music Friday and all, but I got this post half-written yesterday so suck on that...



... besides, this is a pretty hip selection. Dare I say, "buzzy" even? I know, I hate that word, too. But anyhoo, get a load of Africa Hitech. They are a Marvel Team-Up of two Electronic music veterans, Mark Pritchard (Global Communication, Troubleman, Jedi Knights & about 267 others) and Steve Spacek (who doesn't have as many aliases, but has done just as much with as many people). The result is one of the more unique records I've heard in a long time, the kind of record it's completely pointless to try and tag some lame genre on. Just call it some next level shit...

Africa Hitech - Light The Way (ysi)

But that's just one song. This thing is all over the place, in a good way. Some of it would make Aphex Twin go "damn"... after all, it is on Warp. And I'll leave you with this video of the boys in action, which is not so much notable for what they are doing, but for the comedy value of the dude standing behind them...



I bet that guy gets laid 30 times a day...

Have a great weekend, fuckos.

One For Japan

I should probably be working on Blog-achella... I know, I know... but this happened, so deal with it...

Shibuya Station by Tonegent on Mixcloud

Enjoy...

Blog-achella Goes to '11: Choirs & Orchestras & Dubstep? Oh my...

Oh... busy, busy me. But I'm finally back. Saw none other than Ozzy Osbourne in concert Tuesday night. Since me & Ozzy go back, I enjoyed it thoroughly. But I gotta say... the crowd... it was like a trailer park threw up on a biker convention. Damn...

Hey, guess what kind of music 12th Planet makes. If you guessed "Dubstep", you just won a year's supply of Rice-A-Roni, The San Francisco Treat. But it's not great Dubstep, so I'll pass on by. After all, man cannot live on wobble bass alone...

"Gypsy & the Cat are 21-year-olds Xavier Bacash & Lionel Towers who only a year ago began making music in a garage in Melbourne." And now they're playing Coachella. And, suprisingly, they're pretty decent. I hate overachievers... but the band name is awful so NO POST FOR YOU!

Scala & Kolacny Brothers... now here's something different... a Belgian girls choir. I can think of a couple situations in which I could be very nicely entertained by a Belgian girls choir, but Coachella isn't one of them. Nudge nudge wink wink saynomore! Thing is, it's a Belgian girls choir that covers Radiohead and The Knife and ahhhhh, I get it now. Gimmicky... although you could maybe say that about our next featured act... but you'd be wrong...

Brandt Brauer Frick



Who they are: They are not personal injury lawyers or fine watchmakers, despite the name. They are, however, German, and therefore not to be trusted around your schnitzengruben...

What they sound like: Ladies and Gentlemen, Acoustic Techno...

Brandt Brauer Frick - Paparazzi (ysi)

What I think: How about that? I know "Acoustic Techno" sounds gimmicky, but I think you'll agree that is some solid stuff. Some of their tunes have a little bit more electronics, though, so they are not stuck in any stylistic corners and the end result is pretty damn neato. They've been know to play with a small orchestral ensemble, but I imagine for Coachella they'll probably roll with this configuration...



... which is not quite as acoustic, but totally fine by me. Don't think the Ozzy crowd would be too into it, though...

Tone's Ten Top Of Ten - Part 2

And now for the second chapter of this ten-headed beast, in which things get a bit more jazzy. Hence the title...

Part 2: New Jazz Hustlers




I know, I know... I complain here all the time how new Jazz is mostly shit... but that's not completely true, of course. But here's the thing... I listen to a lot of K-JAZZ quite a lot in the car (it's Mrs. Tonegent's favorite) and instead of playing the new good stuff, they play a whole hell of a lot of new stuff that wouldn't sound out of place at your local Howard Johnson's lounge on a Friday night. I don't know how else to say it, so I'll just say it. The shit is so damn WHITE! And then you get a bunch of pasty Europeans like Nostalgia 77 and Portico Quartet and lots of other names you'll hear on Gilles Peterson's show making amazing Soul Jazz that harks back to the good old days and cutting edge black artists of the '70s. What gives? But hey, there's at least one American Jazz artist getting it right and that is trumpet genius Christian Scott, who as a bonus is actually black himself. I saw him perform without previously knowing about him a few years ago and have been following him ever since as he gets better and better. His 2010 record, Yesterday You Said Tomorrow, is fantastic, full of really vibrant original compositions... so of course I give you the Thom Yorke cover, because I am a Radiohead WHORE...

Christian Scott - The Eraser (ysi)

But DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED about the vocal Jazz one hears on the radio now. The shit makes Manhattan Transfer seem gangsta, it's so cliched, cheesy and other derogatory adjectives beginning with "C". But again, another young American (albeit with some help from across the pond) is here to save the day, and that would be Brooklyn's own Jose James, who should be familiar to you if you come around here often... and really, you should come around here often. Jose released not one but two genius albums this year. For All We Know was a straight-ahead, all standards vocal and piano duo with Belgian ivory-plinker Jef Neve, released on the legendary Impulse! label... but I will, of course, go with his more beats-oriented record Blackmagic on Brownswood, because I am a Gilles Peterson WHORE as well...

Jose James - Detroit Loveletter (ysi)

That one was produced by the one and only Moodymann, by the way, so the Detroit propas are SOLID, yo!

I have the feeling both of these young cats are gonna be around for a very long time, so get to know 'em now. Coming next... I'm not sure, but it will certainly be Part 3...

(Post Title Here)

Gaaaaaaahhhhh... holiday party... pain...



DKD are a Marvel Team-Up of Broken Beat superheroes consisting of Dego, Kaidi Tatham and Daz-I-Kue... that's right, 4Hero vs. Bugz In The Attic. So I don't think I need to give you the hard sell on this one. Let's just get to the biznazz...

DKD - Natty Head (ysi)

Urrrrrrrrgh...

Ticklin' the little bittie ivories...

Didn't do a very good job of getting many posts up last week, did I? But you can stop yer bellyachin', 'cause here's one now...



Yeah, it's probably not that cool to like professional piano nugget Jamie Cullum, but hey... I like him, all like 3 feet of him. And that's mostly because of his cover versions, believe it or not. There's no ironic hipster bullshit angle to 'em, and in fact (especially in the case of his more recent version of Rihanna's "Don't Stop The Music") some of them actually improve upon the originals by stripping down the usually crap chart pop over-production and exposing that hey, this really is a well-written song. Or something...

Jamie Cullum - Frontin' (ysi)

Okay, I'll try to do better the rest of this week, but I gives no guarantees. Busy busy busy...

File Under: Jus' Good Shit.

Genres are becoming more and more meaningless in Dance music these days, especially right out at the front edge of fonkay...



You know the drill by now... when Gilles Peterson's Brownswood label releases something new, you're gonna hear about it here before too damn long. This one, as you might guess with your smart little brain, focuses more on the electronic side of all things Gilles... the Dubstep/2-Step/House/D & B stew that has been brewing in the UK for a while now. The genre lines are being blurred in a most delicious manner (Does that sound gay? Yeah, that sounds pretty gay...) lately and of course my man(crush) and his imprint are all over that shit. Exhibit A: This great little jammy by Eliphino, a producer so new he's still got a day job...

Eliphino - Let Me Love You Forever (ysi)

But for realsies... how do you categorize that? House? Broken Beats? Garage? Beats the shit outta me... but really all that matters is ME LIKEY! Have a great weekend, kids...

In which I inexplicably discuss Gordon Lightfoot far too much...

... and that's what we call a SPOILER ALERT!



I'm usually rather suspicious when a band's name is too, shall we say, obviously trying to tell you something... when a group are calling themselves the "Funk" this or the "Jazz" that. It usually reeks of cheesiness... you don't have to tell us you're funky, WE'LL BE THE JUDGE OF THAT, FUCKOS! But of course, there are exceptions, so have no fear of The Souljazz Orchestra for they bring the realz. Actually, they're more Afrobeat than Soul Jazz, although this latest record ups the Jazz ante by being their first fully acoustic set. Also, bonus points for being from Ottawa, Ontario... I grew up near there. And Ottawa is no Toronto or Montreal anything cool like that... I thought it was all Gordon Lightfoot and Barenaked Ladies up there, but I stand corrected. Not that there's anything wrong with some Gordon Freakin' Lightfoot, yo!

The Souljazz Orchestra - Serenity (ysi)

Actually I take that back. There is some wrong to be found... "The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald" creeped me the fuck out as a kid... not as much as the absolutely horrifying spoken word bit in the middle of "Knights In White Satin", but pretty damn close... that "Sundown" jawn isn't too bad, though. For more of my thoughts on Gordon Lightfoot, tune in to... nothing. I have no more thoughts on Gordon Lightfoot...

Let's have a quickie!

Busy today so I'll make this quick...



Una Mas Trio are, it seems, a pair of German dudes who make Brazilian/Latin beats because that is, apparently, what German dudes do. (If you want an in-depth explanation on that, just ask Rainer Truby). Not the ruffest stuff, but not Acid Jazz pap either... but hey, they had me at vocals by Bajka... I loves me some Bajka...

Una Mas Trio - Clear As Water (ft. Bajka) (ysi)

And that's that... see? Quick like shit through a goose!

Did you ever know that you're my 4hero?

Today the ol' iTunes on shuffle brought some old friends back to the blog for their first visit in quite some time...



And those friends would be 4hero, some cats who are pretty good at being awesome. Wish I was presenting you with a brand new record here, but nope. 'Cuz they ain't one. But hey, if you ain't have this one already, you ain't even ready for no new shit, yo! Man, I just got all Ebonics on yo ass there, didn't I? Anyhoo, this one features Miss Jody Watley, blast from the past for dat ass. Actually, despite the fact that she hasn't been a constant chart success for quite some time, if you check out what she's been up to... well, let's just say the girl's been doing quite well for herself. She's become quite a force in the world of style and musically had the sense to hook up with these guys, King Britt and some other very cool folks over the past few years. Jody Watley = hipper than ever...

4hero - Bed Of Roses (Ft. Jody Watley) (ysi)





BUT! Because I know you want it and you know you want it and I know you know I know you know you want it... um... what? Oh, right...



Tomorrow... something else!

Just to clear up the confusions...

Big TV week, eh? I coulda told you that Jack Bauer would waterboard the Smoke Monster and then pistol whip the chick from Pussycat Dolls weeks ago... but I didn't want to be Mr. Spoiler Alert. Anyhoo...



First off, let me clear something up. Roska is not, in fact the same as Rusko, and really... if they were both going to be popular on the UK dance music scene at the same time, someone should have sent someone a memo, no? If there was a dance music Dave Letterman, he'd love this one. "Rusko, Roska. Roska, Rusko". Comedy gold! But just so you know, Rusko = white dude making dubstep. Roska = black dude making what is now known as UK Funky, which is kinda somewhere between House, Broken Beat, Garage and Whateverthefuckelse. It's a bit confusing. Good sound, though. Very useful for making dancing movements...

Roska - Energy (ft. Nikki) (ysi)

See what I mean, though? Pretty tough to describe, the Funky. But I likes it. Because of course I do, or else I wouldn't post it here would I? Duh...