Deadly links to wicked songs by bands, solo artists and DJs from all over the our fine globe. Tracks have been carefully chosen by music-head Mr. White...a fine young fella with a taste for the super eclectic.
"Here are a list of my fave songs that I've heard this week , could be new, could be old, but always in the fold. Don't think, just listen. These are not genre based, they are just good songs (According to the genius that is me!)." - M.W
Deadly links to wicked songs by bands, solo artists and DJs from all over the our fine globe. Tracks have been carefully chosen by music-head Mr. White...a fine young fella with a taste for the super eclectic.
"Here are a list of my fave songs that I've heard this week , could be new, could be old, but always in the fold. Don't think, just listen. These are not genre based, they are just good songs (According to the genius that is me!)." - M.W
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"This is a big week, 7 official MPFREE picks, 1 bonus pick, and a killer free remix album..Get to it!" - M.W
I Say: "It's a strong Timbaland beat that actually feels like an update from last years batch with Wyclef singing the hook ... really, Wyclef, what more do you need to know? This may be one of the hits of the summer, it would be a better choice than Holla Back Girl part II."
Ben Esser is a 24 year old musician from Essex, who creates some pretty deadly, eclectic pop. His debut album 'Braveface' is already available in the UK, and is set to drop in North America at the end of July. The record features 10 decidedly British sounding, upbeat, straight-up and lyrically honest joints.
I'm not sure where I first heard his music, but I was immediately hooked. Esser's voice is warm and refreshing, his music different enough to be interesting, and yet familiar enough for you to feel as though you've known it for years. Electronic beats and samples nestle up against drum kit, electric guitar and bass. Genre wise the record is all over the shop...rock, pop, ska and reggae vibes flowing effortlessly into each other as the album evolves....brilliant stuff!
Esser is nearing the end of his first American tour, an adventure that included a date in Toronto. I managed to catch up with him in the city before his NXNE Festival showcase at 'Wrong Bar', to chat about his new album, touring, producing other artists, and music that's interesting him at the moment.
The show was killer! The lads where tight, full on entertainment embodied. Ben was bursting with sprightly energy, banging on a floor tom, bouncing off the drummers bass drum, and hollaring into his mic with the steez of a well seasoned performer...sweeping the usually sedate Toronto crowd up into a dancing frenzy, so much so that during his performance of the single 'Headlock' one audience member created a dance that caught the singers attention and made him stop mid-song to remark on the spectacle (Check below video!)
The following is a podcast of Bloggertronix's Esser interview....enjoy!
INTERVIEW WITH BEN ESSER - NXNE, TORONTO (17/06/09):
Check out Esser's space for a link to download his latest mixed tape!
BONUS!! -
Live footage of the band performing 'Headlock' at their Canadian debut show, the night the 'Headlock' dance was invented by Toronto based emcee 'Mindbender Supreme'.
This nifty video was shot by online music mag 'ACCESS' -
ALSO...
Photos taken by the good people at 'The Culture of Me' photo blog (super deadly site...go check it!!), of Esser's Show in NYC at Le Royale, on June 15th.
Deadly links to wicked songs by bands, solo artists and DJs from all over the our fine globe. Tracks have been carefully chosen by music-head Mr. White...a fine young fella with a taste for the super eclectic.
"Here are a list of my fave songs that I've heard this week , could be new, could be old, but always in the fold. Don't think, just listen. These are not genre based, they are just good songs (According to the genius that is me!)." - M.W
Brooklyn based Vinyl & digital label, 'The Savant Guard' are set to drop this scorcher of a Remix E.P at the end of the month. The joint in question is a banger of a summer tune, entitled 'F*ck Work' & as the label states it's sure to be this season's irresponsibility anthem -
"Can't get a Job, don't want a Job, fuck Work."Can’t
get a job, don’t want a job, Fuck Work.
Cubic Zirconia are four music makers based in New York's Lower East Side, who have all come from other nifty projects (Film, Drop the Lime Band, Glassjaw & Empath) to form the intense, dance-monster that's about to be unleashed on the club circuit.
The 'FUCK WORK' E.P (5 track vinyl 12''/10 track digital)features a ton of deadly remixes, Bloggertronix faves include the wonky-swagger of a remix by Andy George, & the tropical-hued take by Toronto's 'Nacho Lovers'....also of note mixes by 'Dances with White Girls' and 'Dam Funk'....hell, they're all dope! Seriously esscencial for your summer mix.
Remixes are only available to download for a limited amount of time, so don't miss out....
As if these lads weren't providing us with enough good stuff, they're also offering us the opportunity to buy "One of a kind threads that are as unique as you", in the form of limited edition, super sharp 100% cotton T's. These T-shirts feature the label's trademark 'Cross & Fleur de Lis' logo, plastered across 'em in silk screened shocking red...
Hit the above link to cop yours!The trademark SVG "Cross and Fleur de Lis" logo
Deadly links to wicked songs by bands, solo artists and DJs from all over the our fine globe. Tracks have been carefully chosen by music-head Mr. White...a fine young fella with a taste for the super eclectic.
"Here are a list of my fave songs that I've heard this week , could be new, could be old, but always in the fold. Don't think, just listen. These are not genre based, they are just good songs (According to the genius that is me!)." - M.W
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TODAYS NOTES: "I don't think I have posted many remixes since starting this, they have sucked over the last few months, I would know, but summer is starting and so its Remix Season, mark my words, we will have tons in the coming months starting here!" - M.W
I Say: "I think N.A.S.A. is kinda overrated, but, this remix is such a perfect electronic update of the original, you can't help but want to play it nonstop."
I Say: "Get ready for more of these pop-rap tracks throughout the summer, I'm a sucker for these songs, perfect for driving in the sun. It's the fuckin' best"
I Say: "It's Calvin Harris making his rump shaking party sound, perfect for a long weekend... and to think I thought Calvin Harris was falling off after hearing 'I'm Not Alone'"
Apteka are a smoking, young rock outfit fresh out of chicago. They're playing a number of dates on the west coast this summer including the show advertised on the poster. Last month they released a pretty nifty free e.p called 'Tour'...check it!
Band of Skulls hail from the UK, although you wouldn't know it from thier singing, a serious case of the American-itis in the old vocals! Having said this they create some pretty good bluesy-rock, they recently released thier debut full length 'Baby Darling Doll Face Honey', you can download a copy of the song 'Blood' - Here. The band are currently touring across the U.S with a few dates set for Canada in June, peep their space for more info.
This savage poster with the retro 1950's vibe, is for 'The Rumble', a series of monthly parties that pop off in LA, San Fran, Boston and New York....This party is taking place in San Fran, new cities will be added to the list soon, so stay tuned!
The Phoenix is a concert hall situated in the East end of Toronto, it's where I headed with a fellow Toronto based DJ to see the infamous Minneapolis based MC/Producer duo, 'Atmosphere', perform earlier this month.
Atmosphere were in the midst of their 'When God Gives You Ugly' tour, and we arrived at the venue just as the opener was wrapping up. The place smelt like sweat, beer spills and boy (testosterone and cheap cologne). The majority of the crowd were in their early 20's, and most of them were wasted, smashed and seriously lean. Younger fans piled in the centre, smooshed up against the stage, and the older supporters did the wallflower stance, propped up against walls and pillars. These fans have grown with the group, they've gone through their 20's listening to the duo, I am one of these people, and this was the first time I was to see them perform live, excited doesn't even begin to explain how amped I was about the show.
I've been an avid Atmosphere supporter for many years. I believe Slug to be one of the sharpest lyricists and spitters in music today, his words are more than conscious, smart, observant and always thought provoking. Ant the producer is seriously versatile, switching from Motown flavoured grooves, to more gritty beats with an ease, and a flair that is uniquely his own. These two are pretty much invincible. They've released 6 albums and 11 Sad Clown Tour records, have toured extensively, and have some pretty intense and varied fans the world over.
Slug rhymes about his reality, that of the people around him, and his society, his words aren't always pretty, the messages brought forth by his stories are sometimes hard to swollow... tales that highlight how lives can be affected by drugs, drink, love, lust, death, hard work and too much play, but it's the music that coats these often rough pills with smooth, sweet goodness and makes them easier to digest (check the joint 'Sunshine', where bright beats and keys, support a track that starts off talking about being hungover and ends up taking you on a sunny day adventure).
They're a great team, and for this performance they were joined by a synth player, guitarist, and female vocalist, these cats added a whole other level to the show. When the band came on stage, the crowd lost it, Slug started chatting about how he had almost lost his voice and that he'd been to a Canadian Doctor who had healed him for a mere $180. He appeared to be in good form, the crowd were hyper and psyched, sang along to all the songs and generally got caught up in the energy of the night.
He sang 'God Loves Ugly', and newer songs like 'You', and the beautifully simple and poignant 'The Rooster', with passion and a heavy dose of attitude. Man, does this fella have some pipes, sing? No problem his voice strong, fierce, solid...and the loyal fans sang along.
Slug took a minute to warm up to the crowd, I think it couldn't have helped that he was feeling under the weather, but I also think the kids present had got to the "wasted beyond belief" stage, and were coming across a little obnoxious, and savvy-less....whooping and hollering when he mentioned alcohol, drugs and sex...which was pretty much every 5 minutes. Put it this way, If there's one thing that would get my goat if I was an artist in my 30's who has penned many a song about the negative impact of drugs and alcohol, and I was performing my music to a bunch of young kids who where drink-drink-drunk, but knew all the words to my songs, I'd be a little off too....a little sea-saw with the old emotions, happy that the kids were there, but appearing somewhat disgusted by them too... What do I know? Could be way off, might not be.
Dispite this tense vibe my friend and I picked up from Slug, the man was a deadly performer and the show was one of most brilliant performances I've seen in the past decade, the crowd however were one of the shittiest. I came for the music, I ate it up, but bounced during the encore so as to escape the rush and tumble, high on the audio treats I'd just feasted upon.
Atmosphere re-issued their 'God Loves Ugly' album with a FREE bonus DVD last year. Their sixth album 'When life gives you lemons, you paint that shit gold' dropped last month, a record full of stories about fictional characters who's situations make us think about our lives, the way we behave and our society, couple that with Ant's signature class production and you have a seriously solid record.
The group have just finished the North American leg of their tour in support of these releases, headlined at the Soundset '09 Festival back home in Minnesota, a killer fest in its second year presented by Slug's own label 'Rhymesayers Entertainment', and will start touring Europe in mid June (peep the dates on their myspace).
Check 'em out!
BONUS!!
A video for the song 'Your Glass House' from the latest record 'When Life GIves You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold'. You can pick up the record... HERE and whilst you're at it pick up one of these dope t-shirts too...Super Fine!
The following video is for the electro-glitch song 'Aftershocks' taken from Robot Koch's latest E.P of the same name with Cerebral Vortex . The release also features some sharp remixes by remixes by Flako & Stagga...pick up your copy - HERE!
Yeah it came out a second ago...but the video for Esser's latest single is Brilliant, plus it's a super catchy tune!
London's Esser is signed to a major, he's young, honest and king of clever word play -
"I've got a problem, it's called living"
His debut 'Braveface' just dropped in the UK and he'll be doing a bunch of dates there in support of the records release over the next few weeks. No dates set for North America yet, Scrap that...word is Esser will be playing the NXNE Festival in Toronto on June 17th at Wrongbar with the city's
Malente's 'Music is Forever' is set to drop in July on the UK's 'Southern Fried Records'. Check this wicked video for the single directed by Leo Von Wehrhahn.
I first found out about Paloma Faith about a year ago, she is one of the most dashingly creative and talented vocalists and performers to come out of the UK in a long time. Highly influenced by some of the great Jazz and soul chanteuses from the 40's & 50's, she has crafted her very own distinct style. Her voice is powerful, controled and beautifully textured, her lyrics frank, smart and often home to humour.
Faith is eccentric, exceptionally pretty and all about breaking boundries in art and performance. The following video is for her single 'Stone Cold Sober' set to drop next month. It was directed by award winning music video director Sophie Muller who has worked with many big bands and artists over the years, including No Doubt, Blur, Garbage and Annie Lennox.
The video sports a colourful bunch of characters at what appears to be a pretty mad party, it also features a cameo appearence by another London based, Bloggertronix fave Josh Weller.
(P.s - The deadly mirror dress in the above picture, worn by Faith was designed by Petra Storrs...Who has also done design work with MGMT and Florence + The Machine...Check her out!)
Paloma Faith - 'Stone Cold Sober':
BONUS!! -
A wee interview with Paloma...I have no idea who shot it, or where it was originally posted, but it really highlights her influences, and how she feels about the music industry. She also candidly talks about what makes her tick musically and how she cultivated her unique style.
Deadly links to wicked songs by bands, solo artists and DJs from all over the our fine globe. Tracks have been carefully chosen by music-head Mr. White...a fine young fella with a taste for the super eclectic.
"Here are a list of my fave songs that I've heard this week , could be new, could be old, but always in the fold. Don't think, just listen. These are not genre based, they are just good songs (According to the genius that is me!)." - M.W
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"Yes, it was quite a mainstream week, you can't deny the power of pop music sometimes. Lots of music this week, you better appreciate the effort I put into this ... I should use an emoticon here, but I won't ..." - M.W
Venezuela born, California raised, and now Berlin based Miguel Depedro a.k.a - Kid 606, recently dropped his mixtape 'Megachurch Meltdown', which I believe will be one of the most savage mixes to be released this year. Featuring 47 tracks seamlessly melded into one slamming joint, this hefty mix is not to be missed!
In his true mash-up style kid 606 mixes so many genres and sub-genres of music that it's hard to keep up, cumbia, elecro-glitch, dubstep, wonk, bassline house, Uk Garage, balie funk & Soca amongst others party happily with each other. The mix, originally put together for the XLR8R podcast, may in fact cause your brain to suffer a serious meltdown, be warned!
01 Valet - “Sade 4 Bri” - (kranky) 02 Kid Carpet/Si Begg/Federation/E-40 - “Hyphy/Pop (The Six Million Dollar Kid Edit)” 03 SND - “10″ - (Raster Noton) 04 Cassie - “Me & U (acapella)” - (Badboy) 05 Luke’s Anger - “Working Overtime (Michael Forshaw Remix)” - (Bonus Round) 06 PJ Pooterhoots - “Loader” - (Choochtronix) 07 DJ Nasty - “Sperm Donor” - (Databass) 08 Proxy - “Decoy” - (Turbo recordings) 09 DJ Technics - “I Just Wanna Fuck” - (Nuclheaz) 10 Kid606 - “Mr. Wobble’s Nightmare (Acid Jacks Remix)” - (Tigerbeat6) 11 Congorock - “Exodus” - (Fool’s Gold) 12 Ying Yang Twins/Mike Jones - “Badd (acapella)” - (TVT) 13 Bird Peterson - “Twurk Central” - (Flamin’ Hotz) 14 Genuine Guy - “The Illegible Bachelor” - (Tigerbass) 15 Shadow Dancer - “Infinite Lies” - (Boyz Noize) 16 Luckism - “Shoot Dems Soundboi (Mikix the Cat Remix)” - (Sick Recordings) 17 Kid606 - “Billionaire Bank Run” - (Tigerbeat6) 18 Team Audio Feat. Porkchop & Pizo - “Boom (acapella)” - (White label) 19 Kid606 - “Monsters (Doshy Remix)” - (Tigerbeat6) 20 Kid606 - “Baltimorrow’s Parties (DJ P.O.L. Style Remix)” - (Tigerbass) 21 Rustie - “Marzipan (Wireblock) 22 AGT Rave Cru - “Terror Overdrive” - (Remerge Records) 23 Cardopusher -”Steppin’” - (Worldwide) 24 B. Rich Feat. Rick Ross - “Everyday Hustle (AC Slater Remix)” - (Palms Out Sounds) 25 Mark Ryder presents Ruff Da Menace- “2 F in’ Ruff” - (Strictly Underground) 26 Vex’d - “Smart Bomb” - (Planet-Mu) 27 Little Jinder - “Polyhedron (Supra 1 Remix/DTL Edit)” - (Trouble & Bass) 28 Egyptrixx - “Reconnect (Kanji Kinetic Remix)” - (Electrostimulation) 29 Kadalack Boyz - “Never Slippin” - (Asylum) 30 Axxo - “Mi-Eyez” - (Killtone) 31 Scientist - “Step it Up (Dan Donovan For Don Letts Dub Cartel)” - (Blood & Fire) 32 Cex - “Freq” - (Tigerbeat6) 33 DJ Technics - “I’m a Freak” - (Nuclheaz) 34 Luke’s Anger - “He Destroyed Her Buffer” - (Bonus Round) 35 Com.A - “Kiss My Ass, Goodbye” - (Tigerbeat6/Romz) 36 Kanji Kinetic - “The Buffalo [Blnd! 'The Prophecy of Return' Mix]” - 37 Cristian Vogel - “Plastered Cracks” - (Tresor) 38 DJ KOZE - “Zu Dicht Dran” - (Kompakt) 39 Dexplicit Feat. Gemma Fox - “Might Be (Remix)” - (DXP) 40 Dexplicit - “Bulla Cake (USF Remix)” - (DXP) 41 Kid606 - “Kill Soundboy Kill” - (Tigerbeat6) 42 Bruce Stallion - “Walls” - (Probuscus) 43 Drop the Lime - “Glock Box” - (Broklyn Beats) 44 Electric Company - “Around (Kid606 Remix)” - (Tigerbeat6) 45 Kid606 - “Freaky Deaky Juds” 46 Gregg Kowalsky - “Shards of Fried Plywood” 47 Noam Chomsky - “Crime and Punishment” - (Alternative Tentacles)
Kid's latest Lp 'Shout at the Döner', released on his own imprint Tigerbeat6 late last month, manages to successfully combine many styles of dance music to create a bright, energetic album full of hooks, tasty samples and gritty electronic wonder...Get it!
BONUS!! -
The video for a humor packed, dark joint called 'MR WOBBLE'S NIGHTMARE'. It was directed by Joel Trussell, check his super slick site for more music videos!