Baby Elephant is the brainchild of master producer Prince Paul, most famous for his paradigm-shifting production work on De La Soul’s iconic 3 Feet High and Rising. Paul recruited regular collaborator Don Newkirk and legendary Parliament (and Talking Heads) keyboardist Bernie Worrell to conjure this endearing, strange funk blast in 2007.
This oddball collaboration is a real-deal hidden treasure.
Bobby Vinton had a string of hits in the mid 20th century, most famous of all being Blue Velvet, of course – known to my generation as the centerpiece of David Lynch‘s classic film of the same name. But it’s this liquid pop diamond that eternally commands my rapt attention without fail.
Those listening right now may find a mysterious familiarity – a feeling of deja vu, despite never listening to Mr. Vinton previously. That’s because Röyksopp submerged a sample of this tune in So Easy, creating the melodic backbone for the opening track on their acclaimed 2001 LP, Melody A.M. So give them both a listen, and appreciate the Norwegian duo’s classic pop acuity.
In 2002 Boris performed their most significant transformation to date by dropping this two ton boulder of punk-stoner metal hybrid.
Dâm-Funk, who just dropped his epic 2cd debut album Toeachizown on October 27, is set to explode heads through the end of the year and beyond with funky electro-boogie workouts the likes of which haven’t been heard since Prince and the Revolution erected bangers for the new millenium two decades early. I’ve barely had time to absorb the 2+ hour set, much less give it a proper writeup, so here’s the video trailer featuring psychedelic space visuals and a selection of tunes from across the album. In no way does this do the massive set justice but it’s a tasty slice to whet your appetite, and a heads up to anyone still sleeping on this guy.
Keep your eyes on Optimistic Underground, as I’ll be unleashing a full album post within the week.
-note that the spelling is *not* Dam-Funk, on the artwork-
[available on CD now at the Stones Throw store, or pre-order the ungodly gorgeous 5LP vinyl set available January 10, 2010]
Boredoms are one of the greatest living bands on the planet. Here is an obscure, tangential testament to that unavoidable fact.
Yeah. Adventurer Shackleton
Shackleton first came to my attention late in 2008 via the sublime mix album Uproot (which I posted here in April), produced by one of my absolute favorite beatmakers, DJ /rupture. Almost exactly one year later, this collection – entitled Three EPs – drops the definitive word thus far on his (already stellar) burgeoning career.
Earthquake-level bass lines slither beneath evasive percussion maneuvers throughout every moment of this disc, providing a cavernous bottom end to support the origami skyscrapers of of sampledelic dexterity, all wrapped in loops of pulsing synth candy. The palpably soupy atmosphere creaks and groans like an old ghost ship refusing to sink, far removed from the climate of foggy London alleys of dubstep to altogether more obscured and claustrophobic (not to mention exotic) environs. Sitar drones ride lines of tablas and salt shaker cymbals, disembodied vocals drift through the mix spectre-like, and a time machine’s load of futuristic effects beam us from deep underwater through the Oort cloud and back. More than anything else, this is music to disappear into, be swallowed up for an hour and dropped out with faint knowledge of where, exactly, the journey took us.
With a darkly romantic night drift more akin to Burial‘s pitch black monster Untrue than anything strictly dubstep and a calculated iciness echoing nothing less than Muslimgauze himself, Shackleton stands neatly alone in his world. This melange, spiced with minimal techno, middle eastern percussion tapestries and a truckload of straight dub effects, is truly a unique proposition – something felt more than heard, a necessary experience for anyone still reading. Don’t be left out. And, if you’re still unconvinced, merely try out There’s A Slow Train Coming, directly below.
Exactly. Right?
OK, here he is for real, artist Shackleton.
[get familiar with this incredible set at boomkat or norman records on vinyl, or at amazon on cd (boomkat also carries the cd edition)]
Rumskib are a Danish shoegaze outfit making the kind of straightforward gauzy guitar love spiked with dreamy female vocals that simply hasn’t been attempted, much less achieved, since the beloved genre’s first trip around the sun nearly 2 decades ago.
Optimistic Underground 