Posted on 05/12/2008 1:38 PM On their Definitive Jux debut, the trio of New York musicians known as Chin Chin is quite distant from the post-apocalyptic soundscape often associated with that label’s flagship releases. Though they invite comparisons to others in the current dance-music-friendly rock landscape, there is an authenticity and virtuosity to Chin Chin’s 1970s funkiness that separates them from much of that world. Their instrumentation and arrangements do plenty to compensate...
Posted on 05/12/2008 1:34 PM When Life Gives You Lemons, Paint that Shit Gold begins, Slug [Sean Daley] one half of the Twin Cities duo, synthesizes the tone of the whole album in the first track, ”Like the Rest of us.” Rhyming over a creepy piano streamlined beat, Daley speaks on the infinite amount of forced materialism and media influenced garbage we consume on a daily basis, and whether we do it consciously or sub-consciously,...
Posted on 05/12/2008 1:28 PM Coming straight out of the Chicago underground is Bless 1, the newest rapper/producer to watch for. His monotone, yet passionate flow demands your attention while simultaneously complementing the accompanying beat. And it doesn't hurt that most of Starving Artist's beats are smooth, well-crafted backdrops.
Posted on 05/12/2008 1:25 PM My best friend died this past September. Without going into the heart-wrenching details, he was the shit and died way before his time. He was known by many names, but most commonly Pharaoh. To know him was to know that contrary to popular opinion, much good still exists in this world.
Posted on 05/07/2008 5:18 PM Brian Burton, a.k.a Danger Mouse, is two for two in 2008.
With the spotlight trained on him as Cee-lo's odd couplet within the sombre, psychedelica of Gnarls Barkley, Danger Mouse confirms that this will be his year as producer of the Black Keys' fifth record Attack & Release. And while it's one in a line of well-received releases for the Akron, Ohio-based blues rock duo (Patrick Carney, drums and Dan...
Posted on 05/07/2008 5:10 PM We know somewhere in the back of our minds that Shawn Lee must sleep, even if his release schedule suggests otherwise. With Christmas and pop-cover albums yapping at our heels, it’s a little surprising to realize that Miles of Styles is only the first Ping Pong Orchestra release of 2008. As one of the most visible figures operating in a style comparable to the jazz producer/arrangers of the...
