A View of U – Machinedrum

This is a really interesting album to listen to. Tracks are scattered from 81 to 147 bpm. I get that that might not sound like an appealing prospect to some people. But I think this is one worth a little effort. Each track feels like an event – they weave together in way that shouldn’t work but does.

You’ll know what I mean from the first two tracks The Relic and Star – they have more than a touch of Jacques Greene about them – building R&B vocal samples into a broody electronic aural landscape – but they go into a darker place than Jacques tends to. The album then swerves into over the top brass and hip-hop with Freddie Gibbs on the vocals, before reaching my top pick, Wait 4 U. It is neat and uncomplicated, like an early Ramadanman track. My other top pick is Believe in U is Wait 4 U‘s upbeat twin. A final mention goes to 1000 Miles, featuring Sub Focus.

Bonus track: this is what got Machinedrum onto my radar back in 2014. It’s his emotional remix of Kelis, and it’s a banger.

Talkin’ All That Jazz (Dim’s Radio Edit) – Stetsasonic

Today I have short story for you.

The year is 2013. I’m at Secret Garden Party. It’s about 4am. The night is beginning to wind down. But as we wander past a nondescript stretch tent, some music drifts over to us. Intrigued, we wander in. The DJ is playing a massive hip-hop set. The tent is packed. The crowd is locked in. The energy is huge. One track in particular brings it to a peak. Shazam? Useless. And so begins the search for “The Flute Based Hip-hop Banger”.

Alas, I faced dead end after dead end in the hunt. Until last week when I came across this:

Full disclaimer, I’m not actually sure this is the one, but I’m going to act like it is because it’s been 7 years now.

Maiden Voyage Festival

I’m headed to the inaugral Maiden Voyage Festival today on Three Mills Island. It’s a one-stage Jazz Cafe creation with a solid gold line-up spanning jazz, hip-hop, afrobeat and funk. So solid in fact that I’m not even going to pick out an artist – instead you can listen to a selection of tracks below. Whack it on shuffle and soak it in.

Modal Soul – Nujabes

*GUEST POST*

Nujabes is my go to escapism music. His floating, uplifting beats interspersed with punchy guest lyrics take you away. He’s attributed with having had a big influence on the Tokyo hip-hop scene – he ran a couple of record shops and was a prolific producer and performer before his untimely death in 2010 – and his material sounds as good now as it did a decade ago. Modal Soul showcases the range of his production and collaboration, and is truly timeless stuff. Tanoshii.

Message from Harry: like what you hear? You can find Nujabes and tonnes more of my favourite rap on this playlist called, Favourite Rap.

Wax Tailor

Every Sunday I bring you something a little more downtempo to ease you back into the world.

Two albums today from French trip-hop producer Wax Tailor (Jean-Christophe Le Saoût). He has a signature downtempo sound, with heavy use of looped samples from Hitchcockian classic films, but he also produces a couple of throwback hip-hop gems. These albums will take you on a buzzy, hypnotic, confusing journey through time and space. Yep.