Re-inventing the Remix

Keys N Krates give us and idea of what hiphop might sound like if it were played by jam band. That description however is flawed--The phrase "jam band" has connotations of noodling and musical masturbation, and KNK do not participate in such antics. What they do is live remixing of hiphop songs--the dj generates the acapella vocals and scratching, and the instrumentals are left up to the Keyboardest and Drummer, which are generated on the spot. Dont beleive that this is awesome? Check out their version of Talib Kweli's Get BY. It will force you to edit your concept of live remixing.



I first witnessed the magic of Keys N Krates earlier this year at the Brooklyn Hip hop festival, where they finished their first set and then, because they were so gosh darn good, came back for a second set. They are based in Toronto, which was fairly surprising to me...i guess we shouldnt totally discount Canada as a place from which to get credible hiphop.

KNK do a lot of things right--Their music is available online for free, their live shows are fun, and they seem be the perfect medium between Girl Talk(whose remixes are rapid fire), and conventional mashups (one song, one mashup). Some have said that they should incorporate a rapper into their sound, and to them say, a rapper could not deliver the vocals to these songs better than the sampled artists, so why mess with that? If you are looking for a band to make you bob your head like its 94', give KNK a chance, they will not dissapoint.

Check out their version of Fu Gee La!

The State of Soul

The last post was almost titled "The State of Soul", until i realized that if the state of a given form of music is going addressed, then talking about just one band would simply not be enough. So since the topic at hand is the "State of soul Music", i will talk about soul in its different manifestations today. Traditional soul music today is either played by older musicians that no longer have the fire they once did, or, in very stereotyped ways by cover bands aiming for a retro feel(Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings excepted).

Soul music has evolved considerably over the years and though it may exist very meagerly in a category unto its own, it has assimilated into other styles of music like a double agent. Here is speculation was to what a conversation with this double agent might be.

"Yes sir...im in Rock music. No. Theres nothing of substance. Ok. I will try to start a revolution. I will report back next decade. Agent Double O Soul Out"

There exist microcosms of soul revolutions hidden away in other genres of music. Lets look at a few shall we?

Psychedelic Soul

This sub genre of soul music was popular, for the most part, from the mid 60's to the late 70's, and combined soul music with distorted guitars, Wah Wah Pedals, heavy organ, and pounding drum beats. A genre that was as curious and it was enjoyable, this sub genre of soul was not afraid to explore a darker side of soul music. The Next Morning , the Undisputed Truth, and the 5th dimension, all explored darker thematic material and the sounds generated on their albums can be genuinely arresting at times. Other bands like Sly and the Family Stone, Parliament, and Cane and Able, took soul in a more Rock&Roll direction.Even Motown groups like The Temptations, and the Four tops had brief adventures into psychedelic territory, releasing the albums "Cloud 9" and "Still waters run Deep"(both on Motown records) respectively.Some of the best music these bands ever released was during this era and the flag of soul flew high in a different camp.

Required Listening:

Temptations-Cloud Nine
The Chambers Brothers-The Time has come
Parliament-Osmium
Sly and the Family Stone-Theres a Riot goin on


Rock soul



Bands like the Dirtbombs, Kings X, and King Khan and the Shrines, combine soul with notably heavier elements--Fuzzy Guitars, and sometimes unreal speed and energy, these bands take soul music to aggressive heights. Punk rock, heavy metal, and garage rock influences blended with soulful melodies and beats drive this genre and make for a very enjoyable listening package.

Required Listening:

King Khan and the Shrines-The Supreme Genius of King Khan and the Shrines
The Dirtbombs-Ultraglide in Black
King's X-Tape Head
Living Color-Vivid






Neo Soul

This delightful little genre is probably the most popular form of soul music today. With artists like Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, D'angelo, and of course Lauryn Hill, it has has had the most crossover success of any sub genre of soul in modern times. Combining elements that made classic soul so enjoyable, with hip hop, jazz, funk, and sometimes house, Neo soul artists are generally well informed politically and socially, and a great percentage of the recordings in this genre have some social or political implications. Another feature of Neo Soul that makes it unique, is that there is a re-found emphasis on songwriting and live instrumentation. All of the above mentioned artists as well as most in the genre write their own music and lyrics and use live instrumentation as opposed to samples and drum machines and samples of contemporary R&B. If you are having a problem differentiating between contermporary R&B and Neo Soul..here is an trick.. Contemporary R&B is R. Kelly and Usher, neo soul is John Legend and Jill Scott.

Required Listening:

Lauryn Hill-The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Erykah Badu-Mama's Gun
Amp Fiddler-Waltz of a Ghetto Fly
D'angelo-Voodoo



Soul Jazz

Self Explanatory....Soul music mixed with jazz. It is a sub genre of Soul music which incorporates strong influences from blues, gospel and R&B in music for small groups, often the organ trio which featured the Hammond organ. Cannonball Adderly's The Cannonball Adderley Quintet in San Francisco is probably the most famous soul jazz recording that launched "soul jazz", according to NPR , bridging "the gap between bebop and funk." Important figures from this genre are Melvin Sparks, Charles Earland, and Grant Green, and, more contemporarily, Chrisitan Mcbride, and Casey Benjamin.

Required Listening:

Cannonball Adderly-The Cannonball Adderley Quintet in San Francisco
Christian Mcbride-Live at Tonic
Charles Earland-Black Talk!
Grant Green-His Majesty King Funk


Revival Soul

This is a relatively new genre of soul so it is hard to define the trappings of it. The title that i have provisionally given it probably sells it short. Live band music that incorporates horns, synths, and hip hop elements. The Revelations, Orgone, and Stone Mecca are big names in this genre. Personally, this is my favourite modern incarnation of soul. It is analog, well produced, and the most part simple, and well executed.

Required Listening:
Orgone-The Killion Floor
Breakestra-Hit the Floor
The Revelations-The Bleeding Edge
Stone Mecca-First Contact

in addition to these, there are sub sub genres of soul that blend elements of the above genres, moving soul music into strange beautiful territory. The curious will be happy to know that soul music is alive and well, and constantly foraging into unexplored musical territory.

Old Soul...... Done New.....Done Right

Soul aint dead...it just smells funny.
-Frank Zappa(modified)




If you've been jonesing for some old soul, and i mean Stax-style old school, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings is the band for you. With a sound that is so crisp, it would send potato chips running for their money, Jones and her band of merry gentleman give us a style of soul that hasn't been heard in a while. The band manages to pull of a retro vibe without sounding dated, which is a noteworthy accomplishment. Jones's voice is everything you want in a soul singer--raspy and smooth in all the right places, which makes humming along to her songs easy and enjoyable.

The real treat here is the band. The rhythm section of the band plays so perfectly that, often times, you dont even notice that they are there. The groove is so perfect it seems impossible for them to falter, giving the listener the impression that if they were to actually flex their musical muscles, we would all be in for a serious treat. But they are too classy and professional to throw in a drum, guitar, or bass fill every 4 bars...they keep us wanting more and that is something we will have to deal with. The Horn section is equally gifted--hitting notes so sharp that they almost make you forget that there is a singer. They blast with surgeonlike precision and lumberjack like power which makes you wonder what it would be like to write with a pen that used lightning instead of ink.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB69Ij5X6AE

"Tell Me" from the album "100 Days, 100 nights"(Daptone records), comes off a very nowtro song. It has old school soul with an updated sharpness that can not be defined with words except to say that, while listening to the song, the band you picture will be wearing suits and skinny ties. The Dap Kings, when they play live, wear suits and skinny ties, while Jones is usually attired in an elegant dress. Seeing the Dap kings live is the total package--Jones' cheery persona and brilliant vocals, the rhythm sections unbelievable groove, and the extreme soul and precision of the horns.....all dressed up. Its nice to see a band that wants to impress you.

If there were ever any concerns that Old Soul was a dying genre, Jones and the Kings put those fears to rest. The brandish their musical torches and go to battle in an increasingly soulless world. What they do may not be groundbreaking but gosh darn it, they do it well.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0iGhFwZx6c

Wu Tang Mix Box

Alright. Everyone knows "Enter the 36 chambers", "Liquid Swords", "Only Built for Cuban Linx", and "Tical". They are the required listening for anyone into Wu tang, but in addition to these gems, there are quite a few albums from the clan members and affiliates that are very interesting and funky.

What i have here is a Wu tang Mix of sorts...a compliation of Wu tang songs or songs by other artists featuring wu members and affiliates. 10 Wu Tang tracks that are often overlooked.

1.Biochemical Equation-Rza & MF DOOM(Think Differently Music: Wu-Tang Meets the Indie Culture/Babygrande Records)

The Villian's association with the clan has recently become more noticeable with him producing large parts of Ghostface's Fishscale, and his propensity for Kung-Fu/General nerdiness really shines on this song. The toned down production really lets both MC's shine--the beat dosent really come in untill about 2 and a half minutes into the song.The slow pace makes this song feel like it could be the soundtrack to a slow march up a mountain to fight a long epic battle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uxhFnEVRWU

2.Old Man-Masta Killa feat. RZA and ODB (No Said Date/Nature Sounds Records)

This song is seriously funky, with a Sanford and Son guitar sample that might be some of the grooviest guitar ive ever heard. Masta Killa is a very underrated and solid MC from the Clan with an old school style of rapping that is more reminiscent of Rakim and Big Daddy Kane than the GZA or Ghostface which is a nice contrast between him and the RZA on this track. ODB makes an extremely comical appearance on this track which alone makes it worth listening to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaXEGLRAWbQ

3.The Shoot out-Killarmy(Dirty Weaponry/Priority Records)

Killarmy is one of the more interesting Wu affiliates. Where standard clan recordings tend to use Kung Fu samples, Killarmy recordings tend to use samples of radio war broadcasts, giving their music a notably darker tone. The beauty of this track lies in delivery--5 relatively unknown MC's absolutely shred the mic over an extremely gritty orchestral sample that evokes Liquid Swords and Apocalypse Now at the same time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg3vh52bGJE

4.Cross my Heart-Killa Priest (Heavy Mental/Geffen Records)

This tune is so raw and powerful that it would be at home on Enter the 36. Priest, GZA and Inspectah Deck deliver classic Wu Tang raps over an extremely raunchy and notably lo-fi beat that sounds suspiciously like early RZA production but is the work of Wu Dj, True Master. Killa Preist is known for his tendency to draw parallels between the condition of Black people in the United States to that of the Jewish people during Exodus, and this cut is no exception. The anger and power with which these verses are delivered set it apart from other Clan recordings in which, the energy is high but the content is just not up to the mark.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nN7CT61K4Y

5.Angels- Ghostface and MFDOOM(Nature Sounds Presents...Natural Selection /Nature Sounds)

This is an unbelievably interesting and funny song. It pits Ghostface and Doom against each other and each of them have their own version of Charlies angels. With Ghost playing the hero and doom playing the villian (obviously), the song tells the story of their respective operations. The sheer creativity of the lyrics makes this a song to pay attention to..with brilliant lines like:

" Staggerin' except for the socks and mask naked
Grabbed up the boxers, fussin', pissed and
checkin' for the keys, stacked
A robbery expected, yet nothing obvious is missing"

.....which upon reading it, does not look like it rhymes...at all...but rest assured it does...beautifully. This song is an anomaly in that it has no references to Kung Fu or street life, and the lyrical prowess of the 2 MC's involved makes that change extremely enjoyable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NroRvYrJ2lQ

6.Cameo Afro-RZA feat Big Daddy Kane, GZA, Suga Bang (Afro Samurai OST/Koch)

Big Daddy Kane is heard here doing something rarely heard from him--slow rapping. This song is a horn and string heavy sample with extremely old school clan rapping. GZA is as vicious here as he was on liquid swords and though RZA does not rap on this track, his presence is deeply felt through the haunting, ominous beat. This song has a strong visual component...it is slow and brooding and for me creates images of martial art battles on war torn fields .

Listening to this song in a car makes you drive fast...very fast.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkJNB2MMG8g

7.El Michels Affair-Criminology(Enter the 37th Chamber/ Truth and Soul Records)

This is a treat--A live band doing Wu tang covers. Their original material is awesome, but their versions of Wu songs are so brilliantly done that they are often better than the original instrumentals. Their version of Criminology is so crisp, its no wonder the clan recruited them as a backing band for live performances. Not much more to be said except that this band was a great find and i expect to hear big things from them in the future.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjPV8HaZREQ


8. 9 Milli Bros-Ghostface Killa feat. the Clan(Fishscale/Def Jam)

This MFDOOM produced track pushes the Clan into a place they hadnt been in a long time and it is a beautiful thing.The minimalist production forces the clan back to their roots--Raw, rapidfire verses that leave the listener wanting more from each respective MC. There certainly are some verses that shine more than others but overall, this is an extremely satisfying track will please any old school wu tang fan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jck_UGElBY

9. Kill Too Hard-Inspectah Deck, U God, & Masta Ace ( Chamber Music/E1 Records)

This is one of my favourite Wu Tang songs period. It has everything that i want from a Wu Tang song: A seriously funky beat, awesome lyrics, great delivery, and kung fu samples. With live instrumentation from Brooklyn soul band, The Revelations, this song(and album for that matter) stands out as a hard hitting, pseudo Blaxploitation, soul/hiphop experiment( think Curtis Mayfeild meets M.O.P), and it works brilliantly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4nxp8Rw_d8

10. Live from the PJ's- X-Ecutioners feat. Ghostface Killah, Trife da God and Black Thought(Revolutions/Sony Records)

Ok..so this one is mostly because of Black thought, who is one of my favorite MC's ever, but still....Ghostface and Trife do a great job on this X-ecutioners track. The beat has an 80's flavour to it, but it is extremely danceable and the lyrics are great from start to finish at first painting a picture of an urban barbecue and then segueing into Black thought simply destroying the mic. Ghost is great here and this is the type of collaboration i would like to see more often.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1bhovBlCQ4

And there you have it....wu tang songs that are less than well known but are absolutely spectacular. Enjoy

The best 60's band youve never heard of....

Ok Greg Watson, you have fooled me. Upon hearing the Orange Alabaster Mushroom for the first time, i was convinced that they were a psychedelic band from the 60's that just never made it big. Discovering that this album came out in 2001 was startling, because it taps into the sound of early British psych/pop ( think Piper at the Gates of Dawn) so perfectly that sounds like it could be a bastard side project of George Harrison, Syd Barrett, and Jon Lord.

"Farfisa organ, gloriously fuzzy guitars, and rattlesnake percussion (plus occasionally the obligatory sitar and trippy backwards tapes) support Watson's deliciously whiny vocals", writes Stewart Mason of All Music Guide, observing the bands dead-on recreation of the 60's British sound. What completes the deception are the deliciously weird song titles such as "Aim the Vimana Toward the Dorian Sector", "Ethel Tripped a Mean Gloss", and "Sydney's Electric Headcheese Sundial", which sound like they are B-sides on early Pink Floyd recordings.

The Orange Alabaster Mushroom is a one man band/project from Canadian singer/songwriter Greg Watson, that somehow perfectly captures the fuzzy psychedelic sounds of the 60's while maintaining an uncanny pop sensibility.....these songs are seriously catchy.

Space and Time: A Compendium of the Orange Alabaster Mushroom (Earworm Records), contains songs that you are guaranteed to hum to yourself after hearing them once. The song "Sunny Day", feels like the soundtrack to a montage of people happily walking through a park in the 60's, dressed in bright, pastel colors (preferably with matching parasols), while "Your face is in my Mind" is a heavy, organ driven song which starts with a tease of Bach's Toccata and Fugue In D minor before plunging into a pounding drum beat with fuzzy guitar weirdness and an extremely catchy hook.

Production for the album is notably Lo-Fi, and it works. High end production this album would only take away from what is otherwise a very raw sound. There is a scratchiness to every song that makes them feel comfortable and authentic. The only complaint i have about the album is that the songs tend to flow at similar tempos. This however, is easy for me to overlook, because they are so gosh darn good! Watson also accomplishes a rather noteworthy feat--he makes whiny vocals not only tolerable, but downright enjoyable!

The Orange Alabaster Mushroom are a real sonic treat and a seriously hidden gem of 2001--a charming, quirky little band that sure to make you smile while you bob your head.

Dirty Fuzzy Soul

Ever wondered what it would sound like if Iggy and the Stooges played soul music? Probably not. Such musings are reserved for idiots. Enter Mick Collins, frontman and songwriter for the Dirtbombs--one of the best kept secrets in hard rock. When a friend turned me onto the album "Ultraglide in Black"(In the Red records), my first reaction was "How the F*&^ have i not heard these guys before?!".

With guitars fuzzy enough to make speakers grow beards, the Dirtbombs infuse their music with catchy pop melodies and a garage rock edge that makes you want to throw on a leather jacket and grow an afro at the same time.

One thing that can be said for the 'Bombs is that they do not like to be pigeonholed--As agile covering The Gun Club and The Romantics as they are Covering Sly and the Family stone and Brian Eno, the Dirtbombs bring their signature blend of Soul and Fuzz to everything they touch.

Hailing from Detroit, the home of Motown records, it is not surprising that they hammer soul into every single over-driven note. 'Ultraglide in black' is a prime example of this...they blast out the door with a cover of J.J Barnes' "Chains of Love", drenching the listener in a spray of funky bass, fuzzy guitars and vocals that are reminiscent of Sly Stone...and it dosent stop there. Every cut on UGB is a winner, from their cover of Funkadelic's "Ill Stay" to the one original song on the album,*(lets see if you can guess which one) which blends in so perfectly, youd think it was a cover.


Im not sure if Afro-Fuzz is a genre, but if it is, the Dirtbombs are the best Afro-Fuzz band ive heard, and provide the perfect soundtrack to any type of ass kickery. Listening to them is like being trapped in a time machine...the type of time machine that combines the past present and future into one sticky batter of time and shoots you into it....and the experience is feels like a deja vu that you havnt had yet.





*Your love belongs under a rock

http://www.myspace.com/dirtbombs

The Dirtbombs original song "Your love belongs under a rock"

It Burns So good

Feel like driving through the desert at full speed while drinking gasoline and smoking cigarettes? Need a soundtrack? Karma to Burn is the band for you! Hailing from Morgantown West Viriginia, the band plays riff heavy instrumental stoner/rock metal. To classify them as such, however, is to sell the band short. They inject their music with a healthy helping of southern rock and blues and a pinch of R &B. How do they do that instrumentally? I have no clue, but the end result makes a listener want to throw on an acid washed denim jacket and aviator sunglasses and do something reckless.

An interesting note about KTB is that none of their songs have titles, at least not in the conventional sense. Their songs are titled with numbers and the numbers are not in sequential order which makes describing a particular song to a friend or colleague a difficult and amusing thing to do.Their 2001 album Almost Heathen on Spitfire Records contains such memorable tracks as "19", "34", "5", etc.

To say that their entire catalog is amazing would be lying, however a high percentage of it is very enjoyable if you are in the mood for heavy groovy rock. Though they sometimes(briefly and rarely) forage into territory that is mildly reminiscent of Disturbed, the overall package is extremely solid. "32" from the album Wonderful Wild Purgatory on MIA records, is a jam that encompasses the entire spectrum of KTB. Starting with an eerie guitar riff that leads into what would be a throwaway rock groove were it not for the unique almost Santana-esque drum beat, the band moves through sections are that a funky, bludgeoningly heavy and danceable--not necessarily in that order and sometimes all at once.

Karma To Burn could add a vocalist, but why? their music speaks for itself. It is clearly not for everyone, and judging by the way that the band titles its songs, I suspect that they just fine with that. So if your in the mood to be destructive, raunchy, loud, devious, blunt , or all of the above( is that possible?) check out KTB.

*Karma to Burn must be listened to Loud for the full audiological experience.