What up Fam. So, it had been a little while since I last took a look at the Exponential Records site, and was excited to see that Ernest Gonzales' new album "Been Meaning To Tell You" was available when I headed over there. This album was a HUGE project & is available in an awesome Softcover/Hardcover book format (pictured above), which includes 16 remixes from various artists (Daedelus, Yppah, etc...) & also has 14 original art pieces inspired by each track from the album. The book includes a download postcard for the entire album, including the remixes. With the price being $20 for the Soft, or $35 for the Hard, it is an absolute BARGAIN for everything that you receive and I recommend that everybody snag a copy (I got both versions myself!). Only thing is, I believe the books don't ship until Feb.9th, the original release date, so some patience is in order before you receive your download card. BUT, for those impatient ones, you can grab the digital version now for $12, which includes the full album + remixes & the book as a .pdf. I grabbed it because I didn't want to wait until Feb, and it was only twelve bucks. It is a GREAT album, & I would hope that some of you make a purchase on this one. I'm going to post up my favorite track from the album, & also my favorite remix. I hope you enjoy & please follow these links to check everything out...Book Purchase (Scroll down a bit)
Digital Version
Been Meaning To Tell You Website
Ernest Gonzales "Opening A Lost Sacred Door"
Ernest Gonzales "Purple Heart - Copy Remix"
Next up we have a fresh little batch from Phox, out of Hungary. Dude always impresses me with what he produces, and I can definitely say that "Alone In The Light" holds true to that... Grab this, it's good.
Phox - Propositions EP
Ok, up next we have Shlomo, & two of his EP's. Dude represents Los Angeles, and slowly I'm starting to realize that if LA had a sound, this guy helps to keep that sound going. Along with the likes of Flying Lotus & Ras G, the "Sound" of LA continues to grow, but still it remains the same, to my ears at least. Now, I'm going to be honest & say that I'm not the biggest fan of FlyLo or Ras, or even this guy Shlomo. I dig it a bit & I respect the progressive aspects of the sound, but there just isn't enough there to really keep me going. BUT, I know that a lot of you that follow this blog LOVE that "spacey" sound and so I wanted to get this to all of you... He's been getting quite a bit of press & hype over the last few months, so I wanted to help spread the word. Let me know what you think of these, I'm interested to hear what you have to say.
Shlomo - Shlomoshun EP
Shlomo - Shlo-Fi EP
Finally I'm going to leave you with a nice little vid of Nosaj Thing & his synced visual set @ the Brainfeeder Sessions in LA back in December. Now, Jason here is one of my exceptions to the LA "sound", only as of very recently though. Let me explain, take his album "Drift", that disc exudes the LA sound that I've been writing about, but if you go check his website & listen to a few of the remixes he has released recently, especially the remix of "Forever" by Drake, and the most recent mix of "Islands" by The XX, you'll hear a much more distinct sound, that is at a MUCH higher level than his album Drift, in my opinion at least. I saw him live back in September up in Seattle, and in the few months since then his sound has escalated greatly, once again in my opinion... I'm really excited to hear more from him. Also, I'd like to hear any thoughts from you on this discussion. What do all of you think about the LA "sound" that I am referring to?? In the meantime, enjoy the vid, this would have been a really cool show.
That's about it... Until next time, PEACE FAM!!!
10 comments:
Im not a fan of the LA, flying lotus type sound. I've never understood why so many people fux with it. I'm also not a huge Madlib fan... Probably will step on some toes with that one, but his style just doesnt do it for me. Theres no denying those guys are talented, just not what I'm into. With that said, one of my most highly anticipated LPs is the Flying Lotus / Blu album. Cant wait for that.
Thanks for the heads up on the Ernest Gonzales. While On Saturns Rings was a great instrumental album and Im guessing this will be solid too.
never heard of ernest g, but thanks for putting me onto him. i'm actually considering getting the album, but i'd like to hear a little more first.
@Sir Jeff: No doubt homie. My thoughts exactly, Madlib never really grabbed me either. I do enjoy some Lord Quas shit just because it's so nuts, but overall he doesn't have me waiting for more. I really do enjoy some of his mixes though, he has some vast musical knowledge, "Blunted In The Bomb Shelter" was a great listen...
This Ernest album is very solid indeed, but I still can't decide if I like it more than WOSRing's... Saturn to me feels like there is a greater range of emotion in the tracks, but I've only listened to this new one a few times thru, so I'll give it some time.
You & I definitely have a similar ear palate my friend, and I must THANK YOU for turning me on to Pretty Lights homie. You left that comment a while back and up until then, I knew nothing about the dude. So, for real, Thanks for that knowledge... Don't know if you caught him at any shows while he was on tour, but GOD DAMN it was one of the best live musical parties I've ever been to.
& @ DWEEB: No doubt mang, glad to hear someone getting turned onto something new, especially music this good. I get amped on that, it wants me to keep writing. But, if you do want to hear more, check out Ernest' first album, "While On Saturn's Rings" it's fuckin great too... Peep Here:
http://rapidshare.com/files/78418728/ernest_gonzales.rar
That's the full link. Just add a ".rar" for the portion that got cut off...
I'm sorta the opposite of the ppl below.
When it comes to hip hop, I am definitely more into instrumentals than I am with vocalists. I've never really been into mc's, and "having" to get that new mixtape. I love me some Blu, (old) Doom,or even J-Live. When it comes to instrumental albums, that what I really eat up. Everything is left to my own interpretation. Prob Beat Konducta 1 was my first experience with that, then Donuts. While those are great, they are easier to approach then say the recent releases from LA.
Now while I was looking at Donuts in itunes, that when I randomly came across 1983 and Beat Journey. Beat Journey just blew my mind. Thats what got me into it. At first, this more experimental hip hop soun was scattered. You had Flylo, Dr. Who Dat?, Dabrye, but as time went on and I came across more artists, it started looking more like a collective. Fast forward a couple years, the whole thing has really warped what hip hop can sound like. I still love hip hop like Panacea, Cannibal Ox, etc, but when I want something just so out there, I'm looking at the "LA Sound" that was prev mentioned.
You got cats from the Brainfeeder/Low End Theory crews, Dublab, BTS Radio, etc where its turned its real great revolving circle of artists. At first the tracks were just straight beats. But recents releases such as Beat Dimensions 2, Exile Radio, Hudson Mohawke Butter, the term "beats" just dont apply in all situations. Some of these songs you cant just slap some mc verse on it call it a day. They sound more than that, but its hard to explain.
Example - Mono/Poly "Distant From"
I respect the earlier opinions about Madlib. I am and always will be a fan of is. Producer of Madvillainy? hes good in my book. While his recent releases have been ho hum, I know theres always at least one gem in there thatll have the album on repeat.
Hey Nawledge I'm glad to have introduced you to Pretty lights. He's easily one of my top 10 artists but unfortunately I haven't seen a show yet. Its definitely up there on my 'things to do' list.
I checked out the Phox EP you posted and liked it a lot. I looked on Last.fm for some additional info but it was pretty sparse. I'd like to hear more from him... do you have anything else?
***Only 5 days til the new RJD2 & Emancipator albums come out!
nevermind, seems theres already a phox album uploaded here
Maybe a little late on this one, but just wanted to say that I mostly dig what's been bubbling down in L.A. the last few years. Gotta give it up to newcomer Shlohmo though, at least for the fact that dude's only 19!!! I definitely wasn't making anything on that level when I was his age... Regardless, I'm really just impressed & inspired by the variety of sounds coming out the woodwork right now. Globally. Cats like Robot Koch & fLako (Germany), Swede:art (you guessed it), Dizz1 (Austrailia/Beat Dimensions 2), & the list goes on... I downloaded that Chi'Akai EP you posted a couple weeks ago & just noticed today, it's genre in iTunes is listed as "AstroBeat". Not a bad name for the "LA sound" that has been making BIG noise from coast 2 coast. Anyhow, that's my 2cents... Thanks for reading.
ps. If you'd like, this is a TOP SECRET link to a podcast that has not yet been published! Lot's of instrumental "Astro Beat" :) http://soundcloud.com/wd4d/01-made-like-a-tree-podcast
Forgot to mention that I really loved the link to the Nosaj Thing set... Great work in the musical / visual dept! Was also at the show in Seattle with him, Megasoid (aka Sixtoo), & Daedelus. All 3 of those guys KILLED IT in my humble opinion. Great show indeed.
WD4D - get at us at www.purplebirdmusic.com - would love to throw you more Chi' Akai tracks. Glad you dig the "AstroBeat" label - hope it catches on... started here :) Also trying to goin Galaxy-Hop. Let's see how they fair.
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