The $65.00 knap

Wise words are always written in pink.

Chemistry
Unkle
Nights Temper [A Prelude to War Stories] (Vinyl)
Surrender All : 2007
[Listen] [Buy]

mnpls\_00p
noteNdo
Unreleased
2007
[Listen] [Pay homage]

Joy
Citizen Bird
Citizen Bird
Stinky : 2002
[Listen] [Buy]

The Pinks
Boom Bip
Sacchrilege [EP]
Lex Records : 2007
[Listen] [Buy it when it drops on June 19th!]

Saturday. Whether you're sipping coffee or a mimosa, waiting for your brunch buddies or headed out for a run in the sun - these tunes are dedicated to you and you and you...

The third Unkle album, War Stories, is set to drop the 24th of July - and I couldn't be more excited. This will be James Lavelle and Richard File's second full length collaboration. A little history: the first U.N.K.L.E. album, Psyence Fiction, was a collaboration between James Lavelle [founder of Mo'Wax records, overseer of all things BAPE, etc.] and DJ Shadow featuring cameos by Kool G. Rap, Massive Attack, Mike D, Thom Yorke and more. With Josh doing most of the production work and Lavelle taking a planning & visionary seat the sound was undeniably 90% Shadow. Some have said that Lavelle didn't work on this album as much as he might want people to believe - others have said that 'JoShadow' doesn't like to give up control to anyone. There's probably a little truth in both statements - regardless, this album is in my top ten. The second album, Never, Never, Land, continued with original graffiti style album artwork by Futura 2000, more hands on work by James Lavelle and the addition of singer, songwriter - Richard File [aka Forme]. DJ Shadow did not return, instead choosing to work on his second full length release, 2002's The Private Press. Never, Never, Land is a far darker and rock driven experience as compared to the very hip-hop/electronic back bone of Psyence Fiction. Featuring collaborations with the likes of Ian Brown, Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) and Robert del Naja - it's different from the first, but still very enjoyable. War Stories sounds promising. Josh Homme and Robert "3D" del Naja are returning as guest vocalists along with Autolux and more. Lavelle himself is even expected to make his vocal debut. The first EP, Nights Temper [A Prelude to War Stories], was recently released in a limited run of Vinyl. I'm very much in love with the first track, 'Chemistry'- it's been my obsession for the last few days and has helped me to break away from listening to Chromeo non-stop. 'Chemistry' is a dark, fast cyclonic rock-ride of drums and guitar - I've not dug an Unkle track this much since 'Nursery Rhyme' - my favorite track from the first album, featuring Badly Drawn Boy - so this is a great indication of things to come. Pre-Order War Stories and receive it two weeks before the US release date along with some funky art - I just ordered my copy.

On April 27th, I had the pleasure of attending Bent Fest NYC, an amalgam of circuit bending workshops, art and offbeat (read: awesome & impressive) music performances @ Eyebeam. I caught performances by Gmackrr (tasty circuit bending crunch), Jeff Donaldson (Chiptune zentronix), Lorin Edwin Parker (believe it or not, STEAM driven bending-beats), Mudboy (spooky electronic loops of madness & not to mention piles of chairs) and the unforgettable Sabastian Boaz & The Slop (think Sid Vicious, but with robot band mates). We've posted our affinity for the Chiptune scene in the past - that being said it was only fitting that my favorite track of the evening was the work of Chiptune constructionist, Jeff Donaldson [aka noteNdo, aka jB89, aka i\|_o_+_=_i\|_|)_o_] - an audio & visual artist whose guitar and paintbrush are videogame hardware of yesteryear. Jeff's performance at Bent blasted his latest audio production 'mnpls\_00p' (pronounced "Minneapolis Loop") while accompanied by trance-inducing and awe-inspiring 8-bit visuals outputted from a modified original Nintendo Entertainment System. noteNdo's audio was created with Little Sound DJ, an impressive music sequencing program that runs off of the original Nintendo Gameboy hardware. I've experimented with it extensively and it's no easy feat. But noteNdo understands how to take advantage of the machine's capabilities, outputting an incredible sound scape. 'mnpls\_00p' packs a heavy punch of dark transistor beats and sexy squelching that open minded connoisseurs will surely dig, robot ears or not. Be sure to check out the video [below] that I recorded of his performance at Bent Fest in addition to the promo reel of footage from Bent 2005 [featuring Jeff right at the end]. For more, check out Jeff/noteNdo//jB89///i\|_o_+_=_i\|_|)_o_'s website and myspace pages respectively.

Citizen Bird is a psychedelic rock band from Sweden - they're also known as Silverbullit (but only in Europe). They've released 4 albums as Silverbullit, only one of which was also released as the only Citizen Bird record - the self titled Citizen Bird. I found out about these guys through my ever-present hard-on for The Designers Republic - a UK based design firm who've "had their hands on digital graphics and video installations since before DJs had laptops."TDR created the music video for 'Joy' as a part of Coca-Cola's "The m5" marketing campaign in December of 2005: Coca-Cola recruited five of the world's best design teams to create special edition Coca-Cola bottles as well as a short film (read: music video) to match. The video is classic TDR style [Check it out below] and the song is pure fast forward simplex fun, featuring loud raspy guitars and rolling moogs. For more info on the whole The m5 thing, check out the official site. I've been tossing this one on repeat when I'm alone in the car and belting it out.

Boom Bip is back with a new EP featuring some great electronic tunes - just what we've come to expect from the Cincinnati to Los Angeles to Worldwide known producer. With four full length albums, a handful of mix compilations, various collaborations with greats like Doseone and creating remixes for the likes of Jamie Lidell and more - well, you know the dude's got some respect coming his way. Aside from 'Snook Adis,' 'The Pinks' is my favorite track on the most recent release. I can never get enough of that techno-esque melody, that cowbell beat, mini-piano sound and full on synths - I can't wait to drop this one at a party. Get more on Boom Bip here & here.

noteNdo @ Bent Fest 2007


Love Begin by The Designers Republic [Audio: 'Joy' by Citizen Bird]


Bent 2005 B-roll


The signoff: Tonight I'll be checking out what seems to be an insane DJ fest in Williamsburg [flier here]. I'm very excited to see my bro, Jesse Man [of Bembe's every-Sunday-night-party: No Selector] spin it around. Have a great weekend ya'll...and Stay Tuned.
-- Silent K