Sunday, 27 February 2011
Perfect Loosers present Akwaaba Remixed - Megamix!
It all started one year ago, Akwaaba head dood Benjamin Lebrave met up with the Perfect Loosers in their studio right outside of Paris. He came with a mountain of songs by Ahmed Fofana, Baba Salah and Onyenze. Treasures he'd accumulated on his travels to West Africa. And he met an enthusiastic trio: Waly had been fed Tunisian music since birth, Mast grew up listening to his Congolese step dad's addictive soukous jams. He also ripped walls with Sigisbert Tartanpion, his head filled with the Caribbean sounds of his parents.
At the time, the Perfect Loosers had already made a remix for Angolan kuduro artist Ze Bula, but clearly they were hungry for much more. And it really didn't take much for this impromptu meeting to give birth to yet another project in the Akwaaba constellatioWith such a diverse musical background, connections in the international DJ and club circuit, and the skills to create dancefloor killers and the artwork to go with it, the trio agreed to go a few steps beyond remixing, and piece together a full length compilation where Africa would meet the club.
The concept is to let artists and producers from around the world rethink handpicked, eclectic West African songs. With one rule: staying away from bland, uninspired "world music remixed" releases. Instead tapping into a bubbling scene of up and coming artists, not only receptive but more importantly inspired by music from Africa.
The stems were a mess, the artists had jam-packed schedules of projects, yet month after month, the album took shape. The result is a diverse blend of club aesthetics and African tradition. Not some trendy, artificial music: it is the sum of creations by original artists with deep musical roots. Artists from Europe and North America - as usual, but also from Africa itself, Latin America and the Middle East. Pushing Akwaaba’s mission further in connecting the dots between artists and music lovers around the world.
The concept is to let artists and producers from around the world rethink handpicked, eclectic West African songs. With one rule: staying away from bland, uninspired "world music remixed" releases. Instead tapping into a bubbling scene of up and coming artists, not only receptive but more importantly inspired by music from Africa.
The stems were a mess, the artists had jam-packed schedules of projects, yet month after month, the album took shape. The result is a diverse blend of club aesthetics and African tradition. Not some trendy, artificial music: it is the sum of creations by original artists with deep musical roots. Artists from Europe and North America - as usual, but also from Africa itself, Latin America and the Middle East. Pushing Akwaaba’s mission further in connecting the dots between artists and music lovers around the world.
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Route du Rock 2/19/11
1. We die and see beauty reign
2. You won't let me down again
3. Come undone
4. Snake song
5. Free to walk
6. Honey child what can I do ?
7. Keep me in mind sweetheart
8. The circus is leaving town
9. Eyes of green
10. Time of the season
11. Something to believe
12. Eyes of green
13. Something to believe
14. Salvation
15. Come on over (turn me on)
16. Ramblin man
The Funky President Mixtape by KRAZ
Funky President - James Brown 03:26
Apache - The Incredible Bongo Band 02:15
Africa - Earth, Wind & Fire 01:54
Lavell Kamma - Soft Soul 01:13
Afro Sheen - Neal Evans 02:28
Sam Huff's Flying Raging Machine - Lettuce 03:15
Since You've Been Gone Interlude - James Brown 01:37
Let A Woman Be A Woman - Dyke & The Blazers 02:39
Nobody's Baby - Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings 02:17
People Say - The Meters 01:45
Ride - Q-Tip 03:37
It's My Thang - Marva Whitney 02:16
The Last Suppit - Lettuce 02:08
Rock Creek Park - The Blackbyrds 02:28
Funky For You - Common 03:21
The Love You Left Behind - Syl Johnson 02:20
Everlasting Light - The Black Keys 02:46
Play Dis Only at Night - Pete Rock 01:49
Move Somthin' - Talib Kweli 01:47
Funkify Your Life - The Meters 03:42
Empire State of Mind - Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys 02:55
Knockin' - Ledisi prod. by Fyre Dept. 03:25
Pass the Mic - The Beastie Boys 02:09
Fever - Fyre Dept. 02:20
Workin' On It - J. Dilla 02:26
Flashing Lights - Kanye West feat. Dwele 02:20
Lost & Found - Fyre Dept. 02:07
99 Problems - Jay-Z 02:44
People Get Up & Drive Your Funky Soul - James Brown 02:57
KRAZ presents his 1st mixtape "The Funky President" Kraz (from Soulive/Royal Family) mixes and remixes everything from James Brown (title track) and rare soul cuts to Jay Z and The Black Keys while throwing in exclusive original tracks from Fyre Dept and Lettuce to create an ultra funky soundtrack.
Mixed & Mastered by Eric Krasno
Art Direction by Root Down. Illustration & Design by Charley Robinson III
credits
released 24 March 2011
FREE DOWNLOAD (with e-mail address)
via
Carl Craig presents Tribe @ Jazz à la Villette, Paris 10 September 2009
Marcus Belgrave - trumpet
Doug Hammond - drums
Harold McKinney - piano
a.o.
01:47:51
Saturday, 26 February 2011
Earth - Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1 (Albumstream)
When Dylan Carlson resurrected Earth after a five-year break, he also reinvented their sound. Gone were the crushing, devastatingly slow, blown-out guitar and bass drones that essentially created the entire post-rock genre. The new Earth create a more atmospheric music with more arid soundscapes; they explore skeletal yet pronounced layered melodies inside their trademark drones, creating the aural equivalent of vast, utterly empty desert landscapes. It began on 2005's Hex: Or Printing in the Infernal Method, and attained maturity on 2008's Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull. With Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light, Vol. 1 -- the first of two thematic albums proposed for 2011 -- that's still the case, but Carlson and longtime drummer Adrienne Davies have succeeded in opening up Earth's soundscape texturally and pushing beyond what was achieved on Bees. The contributions of new members cellist Lori Goldston and bassist Karl Blau make this possible. "Old Black" opens the set with Davies playing a kick drum, snare, and cymbal, with trancelike precision. Carlson pursues a series of chord changes one note at a time; Goldston creates a counter-melody just outside his frame. Blau pushes harder and slower, creating tension and a slightly shifting dynamic as the music intensifies but intentionally never breaks loose; it reveals its considerable power with restraint. "Father Midnight" commences with a two-chord vamp, played by all three string players. Carlson finds just enough extra notes to create a melody. Blau and Goldston assert themselves against this ever-so-slowly evolving lyric statement and one another; harmony and dissonance coexist without antagonism, creating a heaviness and tension that are aesthetically beautiful and emotionally resonant. The title track, a 20-plus-minute mindwrecker that closes the set, allows that dissonance in from the jump as Goldston and Blau explore the lower registers of their instruments in a counterpoint that is bridged by Carlson's low-end guitar only minutely at first. The trio gains traction in minute increases that up the dynamic tension. This creates a sinister brooding resonance that is underscored when Davies enters five minutes later. What takes place for the remainder is an exploration of intonation, space, and melody based on a minor-key blues that transcends the form. Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light, Vol. 1 represents a further shift in Earth's evolution. It is darker -- even sinister -- and undoubtedly heavier than Bees, but it is more seductive with its mantra-like droning repetition and more elegantly detailed in its textural dimension. (Thom Jurek - allmusic; 4,5/5)
ALBUMSTREAM
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