nas - déjà vu
that nas documentary got taken down or something. pretty good reason to post some more nas. apparently this was produced after illmatic but before it was written, this is a really nice track. dark, slow, underground shit. pass it on. peace.
-thanks for nostalgicwiththestateofmind for posting this fucking dope track
s. maharba - she
yo thanks for posting this, downloaded this guy’s ep today, it’s sick. really like the trippy, glitchy, heavy instrumental hip-hop sound. it’s like boards of canada fucked up with dj shadow add bonobo to the mix and then some glitchy shit here and there. and my man what a sweet use of vocal samples, real original, very nice! i’ll be recommending this to people, wish you success.
you can download their songs here
ahmad jamal - dolphin dance
sweet track. nice and laid back. sampled by common - resurrection (2.45), Baby Pa & Deda - can’t wait and O.C. time’s up (remix). i can’t help listening for the samples, but i guess you should appeciate the song on it’s own. i just think thinking that the fact that its been sampled just adds to the richness though. pass it on.
christian scott - the eraser
what a guy. this interview with contemporary jazz musician christian scott made my day. this is why i’ve been getting into jazz, it’s got so much soul. you can here the pain, anger, hope, love, anguish seeping out of your speakers when you listen to this record, yesterday you said tomorrow. the album is a musical journey, a fusion of styles which nevertheless harks back to the giants of 60s jazz. this track, whilst maybe not the stand-out track on the album, is a beautiful cover of thom yorke’s the eraser. the original is a favourite of mine and i saw thom yorke play it live in the summer, but this version is amazing. the way it builds up is spectacular, it’s smooth but disonant and i love that about it. it sounds like a classic jazz record, the transition from the original to this jazz interpretation feels organic and natural and so it should be, Christian is a master of fusing styles and making it sound effortless. someone to definately keep an eye on; one of the most exciting artists around today, and he’s played with mos def, sweet!
jackie mclean - love and hate
man, i need to get into jazz more, i have to thank frank-lyn for introducing me to this and giving the inspiration to put a bit more effort into jazz. for me jazz appears as some kind of super-music, so expressive, so beautiful, so deep. i’ve always appreciated it but been too daunted to really wade in and explore. i mean you look at an artist like mclean and they produced so many albums, all with so much acclaim, where to start? anyway it’s thanks to fantastic blogs like this newly discovered one bitches brew which i reccomend to everyone, that provide such an insightful gateway into what can surely only be a rewarding excursion.
madvillain - fancy clown (instrumental)
the production on theis album is so good. doom and madlib make a sweet combination, check out doom’s special herbs albums they’re a great chance to just listen to his own production. madlib produced this album though and it’s got so much soul without doom’s lines over the top of it. nostalgicwiththestateofmind tagged this with #how i’m feeling right now truthfully - i think that sums up how madlib’s production has so much soul and is a loud ‘fuck you’ to all those haters that say that hip-hop is all about violence, cars and bitches. they don’t know shit.
scientist - seconds away
scientist has got to be my all-round favourite dub producer. i’m not saying he’s better than tubby or perry - he was tubby’s protegé after all. but he consistently churns out exactly the kind of dub i like, deep, fairly sparse, a few analogue sound effects here and there and an attention to detail and song structure that means he gets it so right, all of the time. he churned out so many albums in the 80s that were just perfect pieces of dub. tracks that take you to that special place that only dub can take you.
this track is off his album heavyweight dub champion and its got that classic dub intro where it starts off with the original cut and then scientist brings in the delay and the drums and the dub begins. its got a typical scientist heavy beat and bass and he then he just scatters the little details here and there in just the right amount. just listen to this track - true dub sound! peace to the I.
the velvet shadows -dubbin’ and wailin
the king of dub. bask in all his glory.
jehst - introduction (liquor soaked sentiments)
off jehst’s second album, falling down, produced by the genius of UK hip hop, lewis parker. i’m really into this dark uk hip hop at the moment, i think it captures the atmosphere of bleak, northern, winter-ridden, austerity-era britain. i’m moving onto making some of this kinda stuff now, and jehst is a big inspiration. he’s a true wordsmith with a political edge which is always good. this track is the opener of his brilliant second album and is just soaked in sound, real epic and flutey. jehst’s uncompromising flow is quite monotonous here and i like it. got the headnodding beat too… and that’s what matters right?
