Prepare for trouble and make it double as Freddie Gibbs and Madlib promote their new album with “Crime Pays”. I’ve not been this excited for a new album in a long time. Yesterday, Freddie Gibbs and Madlib announced their new album Bandana would drop on 28th June. Egon of Now Again originally set a release …
Month: May 2019
Marcus J. Moore and the art of breaking through
The writer and Bandcamp editor gave an inspiring interview about his career so far and his upcoming book about Kendrick Lamar. As a producer, I don’t know where I’d be without Bandcamp. My entire discography is on there and so much of the music on my iPod classic was filled with Bandcamp music. I’ve also …
Oto-tetsu + sampling Japan’s rail service
There’s an underground scene in Japan filled with train sounds and PA systems. Field recordings used in music is nothing new and probably the most primitive form of sound art in history. But there’s a new scene in Japan using a particular type of outdoor sounds. The oto-tetsu scene (from the Japanese words oto meaning …
Woman sought hypnotherapy for Michael Jackson phobia
Thriller lived up to its name when it caused an 18-year phobia for one UK woman. Poppy Johnson was 5 years old when she first saw Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Upon seeing MJ’s transformation into a werewolf, Poppy became traumatised and carried the fear with her. Seeing or hearing Michael Jackson would cause serious symptoms including …
GBS x LPS – Hip hop record covers as Gameboys
Iconic album covers morphed into Gameboys is a thing I didn’t know I needed. I started modding my own Gameboys a few months ago and I’m really enjoying it. Established modders like gamechangermods inspired me to take the plunge and he has a mini project of his own. Introducing GBS x LPS. As described by …
Cookin Soul samples Street Fighter II on a beat
To celebrate 100,000 YouTube subscribers, Cookin Soul made a beat from the iconic SNES game.
Moby’s Play as “audio blackface”
A compelling article discusses the cultural appropriation of black voices in Moby’s seminal album.
SATURDAY MATINÉE: Asia Rising: The Next Generation Of Hip Hop
Asia Rising: The Next Generation Of Hip Hop is an exploration into the success of Asian hip hop artists over the past 3 years. It’s been a mighty long time since we did a Saturday Matinée film. This time around, our feature presentation is Asia Rising: The Next Generation Of Hip Hop. In conjunction with …
The Akai MPC (1988-Present)
Akai’s iconic sampler has been around for over 30 years with fruitful timeline. Think of a producer, any producer. They’ve used an Akai MPC at some point or at the very least they’ve wished they had one. Much like the Fairlight and Mellotron before them, the Akai MPC has been a hardware staple in music …
A Sampling Essay by Defected
This sampling essay from Defected covers everything from the history of sampling to three European stars of the craft.
Ruffian Kick – LEAVES.
The Californian producer put together an album of beats from the last few months of 2018. I found Ruffian Kick last year while waiting for a plane from Nice back to the UK. I was glad to find a new release in 2019 and his most recent is a belter. LEAVES. is, as he describes …
Rhye – Needed
The track is from Rhye’s latest album, Spirit. There I was watching a football match and the incidental music at the end reminded me of a Rhye song. Then I remembered they had a new album out, so I gave it a spin. And it was literally what I needed. Great segue. Needed is a …
Review: The Hell Hole Store – Three The Hard Way
We reviewed The Hell Hole Store’s Three The Hard Way. Greetings, everyone. The holidays are finally over, or almost over if you work in a grocery store. However, there’s one gift left under the tree. There was no name on the wrapper, so I took it, opened it, disposed of all evidence of my sin, …
Find Your Lo-Fi Beat Track Names With These Tools
You’ll forget what a vowel is with these text converter tools. I used to find it difficult naming my tracks. I didn’t want to give away the sample I used *ahem* and I also wanted it to be interesting. Eventually, I made a list of hundreds of random titles and dip in as and when …
How Lo-Fi Took Over Music
From bedroom set ups and Bandcamp LPs to the mainstream, the lo-fi aesthetic is in a lot of your favourite music. Mackenzie Cummings-Grady wrote a great article on how lo-fi minimalism has permeated different genres. He opens with Jim Morrison’s famous 1969 interview with Rolling Stone: “Some brilliant kid will come along and be popular,” …
Shrill Evans – MONOLITH
It’s a new moniker for Starchildluke as he releases his fifth #Road2Switch series. No prizes for guessing where the name Shrill Evans comes from. But in case you didn’t know, it’s a lo-fi take on the late piano maestro Bill Evans. And Starchildluke took that inspiration for his new alter-ego on new album, MONOLITH. He …
J Dilla Talks About His Sampling Inspirations in Rare Interview From 2003
The hip hop icon talks about his family in Detroit and how he only discovered Fela Kuti while working on Like Water For Chocolate.
RecordRadar turns your e-digging into crate digging
The web app integrates your Spotify music and finds records near you to buy from Discogs.