Month: May 2021

One of a few happenstance purchases from Waterloo records in Austin one year, this sophomore effort from the then Definitive Jux artist is an interesting one. Recent podcast interviews with the Dad Bod Rap Pod and Can’t Knock the Shuffle have enlightened my understanding of RJD2’s origins and work quite a lot. This album remains pretty similar to Deadringer, and has a few notable tracks, but is a solid work of his.

I chose Side D and the track One Day because it just had that fly RJD2 groove where you know he was really on point with the samples and it just has all of the fingerprints of one of his tracks.

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This is a neat single that I picked up many years ago at a Zion I show in Park City. This was also an opportunity to meet Amp Live, the guy behind the beats, and do an interview. Unfortunately that audio file was lost, but it was cool to speak to him before the show at Star Bar.

Side A has the title track, plus an instrumental, and a track called Antenna, which is my favorite on this side. It’s mostly Amp’s instrumentals, as they’re very beautiful and very much make Zumbi’s flow work very well.

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Another nifty Ghostly International artist I’m mostly aware of from Nerd Show. There’s usually a high probability that a promotional company sending me something from Ghostly is gonna be right in my lane, and Geotic is very much so. Mostly instrumental minimal and deep house? All. Day. Long.

Side B is front to back fun and very groovy tracks with a lot of melody and playfulness. Maglev, the final track on this 8-track album, feels like the train heading out of town with a known destination.

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I think this gem came on my radar through the radio show and I was instantly a fan of it. Graphs was closely aligned with Om Unit, who I was familiar with and a fan of, and this felt very much in that pocket of deep, contemplative, driving bass music. It’s a terrific little EP and I just love Posthuman on Side A. It’s got that snappy double-time hustle over the top of a nice two-step groove that I can’t get enough of.

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As one of the O.G. Canadian MCs, Kardinal really rocks the mic over some terrific beat loops on this four track mega single release. Dirty, Clean, and Instrumental versions of almost all the tracks. Side A is an easy pick with MIC T.H.U.G.S. being a solid cut and Kardi’s second set of bars really showing his writing chops with lyrics and syllables focused around the “dis” signpost. Really great cut and an MC that I should know more about.

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Another grab from a sale at a library, this one is a true gem but one that I was already familiar with, having owned the dual tape version in the 80s and listening to it constantly. It’s a slightly unusual 2xLP, but given the number of tracks even on this abbreviated vinyl release, it needed it. I picked Side A because it’s lacking any really popular tracks that got radio play, but represents the oldest cuts on the compilation.

Ceremony, my pick on this listen, was actually written and credited to Joy Division, the precursor to New Order, and it really feels it. Sumner’s vocals are treated very much in the Joy Division manner, Hook’s bass is midrange as every, the drums are snappy and it feels like a halfway track between two worlds, but completely devoted to being great.

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I picked up this neat little collaboration, on Fieldwerk, at a show that Edison opened for Aesop Rock at In the Venue in SLC. It was probably for the Skeleton tour, and Aes had been doing some projects with Edison around the time called 900 Bats, or something like that. Edison is a monome master and I’d loved his videos and what I could get my hands on for Nerd Show. Lazerbeak, on the other hand, is one of the two masterminds behind the sound of the Doomtree collective and I think he prefers the MPC style. Nonetheless, I was stoked to pick this up.

I decided to go for the Lazerbeak side, as I was more unfamiliar with his solo work, and it’s full of neat beats. Some are brief, while others are longer compositions. All feel very thought out, and it still amazes me that these were probably recorded on an MPC. Hard to pick a single tune from this side, but Don’t Tie Me Down was my favorite this listen. Strangely, I couldn’t find this on YouTube so I can’s share it. Perhaps it’s available on other services.

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This is a weird one, for a few reasons. First, it’s a 2xLP but only has 8 of the tracks that Sasha used for the normal Involver release. They’re all 33 RPM tracks, but the cutting is so wide for club play that they take up a full side each. It’s also from a collection that I was able to cherry pick from many years ago, of which I should have just purchased everything.

This time around I’m listening to the first of the two discs, which includes The Youngsters track Smile, and Spooky’s Belong. Because it’s only one track per side, I’m picking a focus track from both sides. This is a super difficult one, as both of these tracks are very, very good, but I’m going with Belong from Spooky for this listen.

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Another one of those albums I got in the early years of Nerd Show but somehow found on vinyl later, probably at Randy’s Records in SLC. Nothing special about the pressing, but it’s a solid single LP. I picked Side B on this listen, and it reminded me of how experimental a hip-hop album it was in the early 2000s. Lots of synthesizers and drum machines, but that’s usually what happens when you can’t sample much and it’s instrumental.

Down is my favorite on this side because of it’s big, cinematic vibe with the piano, 808 kick, and guest vocals from Mia Doi Todd. Notable mention to Paranoia and Yet and Still…

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I must admit to owning this one for years, but as it happens with many of these cheap/free records, I’ve never listened to it. I’m sure this was another album from a media sale at a library, and it’s in pretty good condition, but there was a second record inside also, a collaboration between Nat and another artist.

The title track of the album, Side A, track 1, really tells an interesting tale. The point of view is of one patron overhearing another, older, long-time visitor of the drinking establishment telling tales of nights gone by, how times used to be so grand, but in the closing moments of the track he asks simply “Where did everyone go?”. Quite the tale.

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