I know this one’s a few years old but this is such the un-Muggs album and perfect for this moody time of year. Muggs is best known for the venomous hooks behind all your favorite Cypress Hill and House of Pain joints, as well as collabos with various hip-hop all-stars under the Soul Assassins umbrella. On 2003’s Dust though he pays homage to his less obvious influences such as Pink Floyd and brought in some lesser known vocalists in Amy Trujillo and Josh Todd. Dusted, natch, but broadly accessible.
Urbs
Austrian hip hop and breakz DJ, Paul Nawrata, has been crafting mean sets since 1991. He’s been producing since 1997 and his first solo album, Toujours le Même Film, in a word, KILLS. Fans of film scores and other cinematic sounds are definitely gonna wanna jump in on this one. As are the hip hop kids. Quality downtempo, trip-hop for folks who are partial to Portishead, RJD2, and surround sound.
Wax Tailor
The NBA season is almost upon us and I ain’t gonna lie, I’m a bit nervous about my Detroit Pistons. I guess that’s better than being cocky like I was last year only to rip my hair out as they lose steam in the playoffs. What do hoops have to do with a French DJ/producer? Well, those of you with NBA 2K7 on pre-order will soon find out. This year’s game gives you more than just the chance to watch digital sweat run off Shaq’s face as he shoots free throws; you get a Dan the Automator-produced soundtrack featuring Wax Tailor’s collabo with North Carolina rap duo The Others, “Walk the Line.” A nice cap to a fine year for Wax Tailor (born JC Le Saoût), whose throwback 12-inch “Que Sera”/”Where My Hearts At” — available for free download at Better Propaganda — was followed by a monster debut album, Tales of the Forgotten Melodies. However, in this post, I’m showcasing Wax Tailor’s skills on the remix because that’s what is available for download at his site. I’m particularly fond of the loping “Guns of Brixton” bassline on the Clash Tribute Remix of “Eye Drink.”
Teddybears
For all intents and purposes summer’s coming to a close real quick. Sweden’s Teddybears drop a late entry for Summer Song of the Year with “Cobrastyle” featuring Mad Cobra on vocals. Mad Cobra flavors the track with highly addictive dancehall rhythms and resurrects Kid Rock’s “Bawitdaba” (who knew that song could be salvaged??) in the process. Other guest vocalists on the album include Iggy Pop and Neneh Cherry (drop by their myspace page for her contribution). Either of those songs make for a perfect soundtrack to this season’s closing credits and should easily get your party started.
Eliot Lipp
Tacoma, Washington. Home of the underappreciated, yet thoroughly ruling punk band Seaweed. At one point I think I had eight Seaweed t-shirts. One of them had the band’s logo on the front, and in large, capital letters “VISUALIZE TACOMA.” I’ve never been to Tacoma, but from what I hear there’s nothing special to visualize. Then there’s Eliot Lipp. His two latest releases were recorded in L.A. while he had Tacoma on the brain. So what did he do? AURALIZE TACOMA. The soulful grooves on Tacoma Mockingbird, and the new Days EP, grew from his moods and emotions while reflecting back on his hometown and friends. His output is a simple, yet simmering synth stew of well-worn breakbeats with Lipp’s retro, yet timeless, twist. His goal was to create a classic electro sound which he pulled off with his economic use of synths and beats. Think New Order pitched down to Grandmaster Five’s tempo, and drop in a lick of their rhythm.
CSS
CSS is short for cansei de ser sexy, which is Portuguese for “tired of being sexy.” Tell me about it! I’d discourage anyone who’s just sick and tired of being sexy from listening to CSS. Their playful, decadent, chocolatey dance beats are sure to get even the most tired or uptight to drop everything, kick off their shoes, and start movin’ and groovin’ and droppin’ clothing all over the room. Where’s my lady when I need her!?!?!
The Gray Kid
Never timid on the mic, The Gray Kid (born Steve Cooper) unleashes the sexy falsetto and back-pocket rhymes over some giant beats. Kinda like a Pharrell for the Silverlake set. Like that means anything to most of you…don’t worry, Ann Arbor, you’ll like him, too. As CD Baby customer reviewer Tim Bones says: “Joint is flavorful. Makes you want to impregnate your local librarian.” And for the Sunday afternoon version, go to The Gray Kid’s unplugged MySpace page.
Entre Rios
A three-day weekend’s nothing compared to the joy of Darla Records finally getting with the times and converting their fabulous label CD sampler series, Little Darla Has a Treat for You, into a download-only affair (albeit 64kbps…). You may have already read Sean’s Junk Drawer post about Little Darla Has a Download for You but I’m guessing both Clay and I will take the opportunity this week to finally herald some of our fave Darla acts. I’ll start with Entre Rios. Think of them as Argentina’s Everything But the Girl, because Isol just sings and Sebastian just writes. Or don’t think of them as anything, and just get lost in the angelic loveliness of “Claro Que Si” (one of my favorite Spanish phrases to drop into everyday conversation) from Entre Rios’ 2005 album Onda.
Szymanski
The 2006 Detroit Electronic Music Festival kicks off in about two minutes. One of the first live acts to take the stage will be Detroit’s own Mark Szymanski. While these tracks are a few years old, they showcase his knack for refined, jazzy grooves and excellent taste in guest vocalists (Michael Scamardella on “Tranquillamente” and Perilelle on “UTKY”). Thanks to Moodmat (a new blog run by a team of established music fools, including Techno Rebels author Dan Sicko) for the tip. Check them out for more in-depth coverage of DEMF ’06.
Cornershop
3hive reader Saud dropped a wake-up call in the Suggestion Box about Cornershop. He wondered if we’d heard of them. Yep. Heard of them, seen them play live, even worked the term “everyone needs a bosom for a pillow” into a conversation once…but, as so often I do with bigger acts, assumed they didn’t have a free and legal MP3s to share. My face is red; I stand corrected. Here’s some material from a couple years back, including the wickedly infectious MIA remix of “Topknot.” New full-length due out in June. So keep it locked.