An album that changed my life in so many ways. This is my clumsy ode to Simple Things by Zero 7. This will be a stream of consciousness type essay because Simple Things is that kind of album to me. And the way I found Zero 7 – and the album – was in an…
DJ Manipulator flexes his synth muscles on ARP Revisited, featuring Blu and Louie Gonz. What’s that, another synth stonker from DJ Manipulator? Hell yeah it is! The producer/DJ gave his guest MCs something to rap about on ARP Revisited, a reimagining of the original “ARP” from his Synth Tape album. East Coast met West Coast over Manipulator’s “skillfully blended” scratches and chops, warped together with…
Just over an hour of underground 70s French jazz from the likes of Michel Sardaby, Brigitte Fontaine, Jean Luc Ponty, and Henri Texier. I’ll dive into anything jazz related, especially when it’s prefixed with a country. Japanese jazz is a particular favourite and Magical Mystery Mix have given us a few mixes of that variety. Now it’s the turn of France and 63 minutes of…
Another transatlantic duo meet for the follow up to their 2017 debut EP. We reviewed Edison Av and Sik Sense’s Above the Ground. Hip hop has no boundaries when it comes to creativity. The second biggest ocean on the planet isn’t the obstacle it once was for artists back in the day thanks to the internet as Edison Av and Sik Sense know all too…
The Jazz FM Awards have announced the iconic jazz label and its president will be presented with the PPL Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s ceremony. Blue Note Records will celebrate their 80th birthday in style with a lifetime achievement award for themselves and their president, Don Was. The label is home to the likes of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, and Herbie Hancock and one of the greatest of all…
A little late but the UK producer is back again with his fourth #Road2Switch album release, BOWSERTAPE. In arguably his best release of the series, Starchildluke brings us BOWSERTAPE. He’s called it an “alternative love album” loosely based on Bowser’s “relationship” with Princess Peach. To tell the tale, Starchildluke has used mostly R&B samples with a random mix of skits per his trademark style. As…
Kenny G straddles the line between popularity and infamy. Here are five samples from the controversial saxophonist. I don’t like Kenny G. That sounds like an odd admission when I’m about to write about the man but I have reasons. And those reasons are because of you. Well, not necessarily *you* but readers in general. You see, as part of our content strategy, I check…
The Dutch beat maestro is back with Smoetsie, his third release. (No pun intended!) It’s not been that long since we discovered Thijsenterprise and his sophomore release, Stepbacks & Setbacks. It’s actually been 6 months between that album and his latest offering which is a long time in an age of Bandcamp hip hop. This one is called Smoetsie (Dutch slang for “smutty) and it’s a concept…
Zero 7 return with their second single this year. Aurora features frequent collaborator, José González. It’s been 10 years since Zero 7’s last studio album, Yeah Ghost. They’ve released a few singles and EPs since then but nothing full length and I’m chomping at the bit in all honesty. I listen to their debut album, Simple Things, once a week and have done for the…
Seeing as JAE didn’t want you to be his Valentine, we haven’t published this on Valentine’s Day. Sometimes you’ve gotta keep it real and be honest. Especially when it comes to love and romance. That’s exactly what JAE did on his freestyle, Don’t Be My Valentine. The LA-based rapper-producer gave a heartfelt speech on what you could expect from him on Valentine’s Day and it…
