Songs of Summer, Vol. III

Dujii
Kool & The Gang
Kool Jazz
De-Lite Records : 1973
[Listen] [Buy]

Sneakers [Fifty-Four]
Sea Level
Sneakers [Fifty-Four] 12"
Capricorn : 1979
[Listen]

Walk in the Night
Grant Green
Live at the Lighthouse
Blue Note : 1972
[Listen] [Buy]

Well, shit. So many apologies, so little time. It's been a solid couple of weeks since I've shown my face around here, but with good reason. The move was a giant pile of ridiculous, and now that the dust is settling and every last box is unpacked, it's time to return to the business at hand, and that's the ungodly heat of the summertime, and the tunes that should make it a little more tolerable.

I'm only at part 3 of my series, but already the groove is well broken-in, and it's time to really sink into the pocket, with another trio of shimmering beauty that'll knock the socks off anyone and everyone.

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Simple enough to start; Kool and the Gang. Normally, people reach immediately for the slow, sexy, sweaty synth love-in that is "Summer Madness", not only because it has summer in the title, but because it drips with perspiration and really communicates the deadly heat, the feeling of being unable to move, immobilized by sweat, humidity and the blazing yellow sphere high above in the cloudless sky.

I prefer the chillier, but no less prolific, jazz groove of "Dujii".... listen as the unwavering beat lets a nasty horn arrangement and bass/organ interplay ride it into the sunshine. It's fresh, lively, and a whole lot of dance. Save "Summer Madness" for the bedroom or the poolside when the symbolism is more obvious, and take "Dujii" just about everywhere else until the temperatures drop below 70 at the end of the season.

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Where do we hit next? The straight-up, weird, oddly-groovy fusion of Sea Level. Take 3 former members of the Allman Brothers Band [Chuck Leavell, Lamar Williams and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe" Johanson], give them a guitarist, and step back to watch what happens. Their music sounds exactly like it should for the time period, that late 70s vibe with that choppy guitar style, tight, bright drums and the godawful [for the most part] electric piano sound.

However, the tempo and the virtuosity of the players keep it from veering too far into bad territory. It's a well-honed sound, and with enough major chord turns [some of which come across a little too Eagles-esque for my liking, but I must calm down] to warrant summertime inclusion. Disco, rock, funk, and blues converge at the weirdest crossroads yet.

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Finally, a quick hitter from one of my favourites, Grant Green. He died young [ish], taking a lot of talent with him, and never really got as much of the spotlight as he perhaps deserved. There's just something about his slick playing style on the frets that always got my attention, and this live cut is no different.

The tempo is breakneck, the guitar-playing is gorgeous, and the energy is relentless. Try playing this next time you break out Project Gotham Racing, or when you pinch Daddy's midlife crisis car for a late-summer afternoon. Push the pedal to 70, press play on this track, and off you go.

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I'm off to the beach tomorrow, so the end of the week will come and go with little more from me. I think one of the others has it under control, but I'll be back tuesday with some tan, some rest and some perspective under my belt.

[And yes, these tunes will be part of the soundtrack.]

We're Here

Your neighborhood tastemakers have survived the move to Harlem with no more than a couple of scratches and a wicked rush of positivity coming off the tail end of July 4th. It's in boxes, most of it, and we've yet to be wired up to the Internet, okay; but already stories and songs are quickly pouring together, setting up in concrete.

Disappointment has not been inventoried amongst the cartons and crates.

It gets better from here.

The Begining is the End [Is the Begining]

Original imagery courtesy of mrdankelly.

This is Promotional
Copy
Hair Guitar
Audio Dregs : 2007
[Listen] [Buy]

Combination Reggae Dancing
Luke Vibert
Compilation Tracks for Which I Was Never Paid
Personal Stereo : 2007
[Listen] [I don't know where this can be purchased...?]

Dirty ROM Dance mix
Nullsleep
Electric Heart Strike
8bitpeoples : 2007
[Listen]

Old School Tie
Paul Hartnoll
Please [EP]
Kids : 2007
[Listen] [Buy]

Please [feat. Robert Smith]
Paul Hartnoll
The Ideal Condition
Kids : 2007
[Listen] [Buy]

Lazy Eye (Adam Freeland remix)
Silversun Pickups
Adam Freeland - Global Underground 32 : Mexico City
Global Underground : 2007
[Listen] [Buy]

Hit You with the Suffness
Suff Daddy / Digital Invaders
Invasion
(unsigned) : 2007
[Listen]

Site's been slow this week as we've been deep under cardboard boxes, packing tape and leather couches: we're busy packing and we're ridiculously excited about it. Tomorrow - JT, Codec & Silent K (along with another fine gentleman) are moving into a new apartment, here in NYC. It's gonna be sickness. Here's some fine tunes that have been upside my head all week.

Marius Libman is an electro artist releasing his second album under the moniker of Copy. He's got an Electro sound that's similar to Eliot Lipp with elements of IDM like Squarepusher and Hip-hop 'Dre style. It's also a surefire interest for fans of Chiptune, but it's a bit overproduced to be in that category. Really great stuff. Check out his MySpace for other tracks.

I love Luke Vibert. I stumbled upon a few releases of his recently. Not only does he go by Vibert, Plug, Wagon Christ, Kerrier District, etc. - but he's added Ace of Clubs to the roster as well. 'Combination Reggae Dancing' is a very groovy track and it's really got that Vibert-beat to it. A great bouncy track that Flat Eric might bob his head to after listening to enough Oizo. Can't find out where to buy this compilation though...any ideas?

Anytime that something new comes out from 8bitpeoples I grin, ear to ear. This past month the Chiptune supreme label's seen new releases from Mr. Spastic, RushJet1, Kplekraft and 8bitpeoples co-founder: Nullsleep. With Electric Heart Strike, Jeremiah has refurbished a handful of his previously released Gameboy & NES constructions - each with a noticeably denser fidelity. If you're as familiar as we are with 'Her Lazer Light Eyes' and 'Destination Tomorrow' then you'll notice the tweaks that each track has seen. 'Dirty ROM Dance Mix' is all over the place, and I love it for that - not being nearly as straight forward as his other tracks while still retaining a sense of directionality and the Nullsleep style - it's really great stuff. You can download the entire release (and a lot more) for free right from Nullsleep & 8bitpeoples. He gave a free (and quite animated) performance here in NYC on June 21st - check out the video of it here. Electric Heart Strike is on my running mix on my Shuffle right now - there I said it!

Remember Orbital? You should, the duo of Paul & Phil Hartnoll only broke up 3 years ago (I've still not quite recovered). If you don't remember though - then all you need to know is that Orbital is one of the most important names in Techno. Paul's solo release, The Ideal Condition, truly displays the evolution of his work. You can still hear key moments of that Orbital sound - the progressions and the layering remind me of nothing else. But, the production has gone through the roof. The album's first track 'Haven't We Met Before' is a cinematic beauty. Another track, 'Silence' reminds me of the kind of tune that would normally come from Hybrid - it's beautiful. 'Patchwork Guilt' has the most traditional Orbital sound on the album - calm, simplistic and melodically motivating with that THICK beat. The real hit though will surely be Hartnoll's collaboration with The Cure leading man, Robert Smith on 'Please.' 'Please' is a love ballad with a rolling beat, a very Orbital like melody and with the addition of Robert Smith? I'm hesitant to say "I'm in love" - but I've not been able to turn this track off for the past week - his vocals work so well. Also hosted today is one track off of the 'Please' single release - 'Old School Tie' is a B-side track that's an obvious throwback to the old Orbital sound - it's a track that I would have expected to have heard on their 1999 release (one of my favorite albums) Middle of Nowhere.

I'm very pleased that Adam Freeland produced a Global Underground mix - though I do like them very much, I've had enough of Nick Warren, Danny Tenaglia, John Digweed & even Sasha (as far as the GU releases are concerned) - although I would very much like to see Paul van Dyk produce one. Freeland's mix is great, and I'm really digging the rock-tronic angle that he's taken. Such is the case with his remix of Silversun Pickup's 'Lazy Eye.' It's a relaxed beat with a soothing voice. Out of any of the tracks on both CDs, I find myself coming back to this track the most.

The Digital Invaders release has been up on a lot of music-blogs as of late, deservedly so - it's another entry in the trend of refreshing hip-hop instrumentals. The Digital Invaders collective is Bless 1, Suff Daddy, Hazeem, Lokid, Ellipsis, Powell, Theworthlessfew & Al 'Kay Foundation. [This is really the only good thing that Myspace has going on for it right now, the music pushin' - and I fuckin' LOVE it.] Most of these guys are from France or Germany and each has a smooth sound and an obvious respect for 8 bit anthems and the Dilla - as evidenced when you hit the Digital Invaders myspace. I find myself as quite the sucker for keys in hip-hop, so I had to post Suff Daddy's 'Hit you with the Suffness.' It's a very chill track - nothing groundbreaking here, it's a standard beat but it's surely my most recent whiskey-drinking-soundtrack. In fact - the entire album is. Even better, the whole thing is available for free, right here. Get it. Dig it. Tell your sister and your sister's friends.

We've got a lot of boxes and couches to move tomorrow (well, technically it's today, but I've not hit the sack just yet) These tracks have got me pretty prepped to move on to the next chapter - and so...I will.

The next post will be written from the future. Stay Tuned.
-- Silent K