2015? Part 2

Simon Reynolds chooses this as his pick for 2015 so far here in my comments. Atlanta's Future was the kingpin of weird rap before Young Thug came along and remains just as relevant as Thugga. They both come from the same church ie. Lil Wayne worship. His 2012 album Pluto was choice as was this year's Beast Mode mixtape which I wrote about here. Future had a couple of other good mixtapes Dirty Sprite, Astronaut Status and Streetz Calling but last year's official album Honest was a tad disappointing. Fuck Up Some Commas originally appeared on the Monster mixtape from last year as well as on 2015's DS2.

Turn On The Lights is classic anthem from Pluto.

Real Sisters was on Beast Mode as well as appearing on DS2.

This is the closing tune on Beast Mode.

Future featured on this great tune from Jeezy last year which made my end of year list.

Anyway back to now....the Mrs chooses this as her 2015 pick. Goin back to Live To Tell vibes on this one fo shizzle.

Same name different song. Vocally he's a bit reminiscent of Billy McKenzie doncha think? He kinda does with deep tech what Daniel Bedingfield did with 2-Step Garridge on Gotta Get Through This sort of...maybe....I dunno.....does he?

I think he originally did an acoustic version of this anyway....

Hard for me to go past this one from Beatking for 2015.

Oh and I really like this...sure it's got a bit of Dre/Snoop circa 92/93 RJ & Choice have their own swagger though which raises this tune beyond mere pastiche, is it not awesome? Iamsu! is a star. Call me retromaniacal....... 

Iamsu! with RJ & Choice again....

DJ Mustard - The Mixtape Volume 1 (10 Summers)

DJ MUSTARD - THE MIXTAPE VOL 1 10 SUMMERS
After the disappointing 10 Summers album of last year I didn't think I'd be going back to DJ Mustard at all. I thought his time was up and it was time to move on but after listening to RJ & Choice's Rich Off Mackin my mind was swayed to believe he still had something to give. You would have thought he'd have distanced himself from the 10 Summers title though, so it's a little odd that he recycles it for this much improved release. I assume Choice who turns up here is the same man as Royce The Choice of the great Midnight Run which was my favourite tune from DJ Mustard's brilliant Ketchup mixtape from 2013. Anyway Choice along with RJ dominate this mixtape appearing on a third of the tunes. Mustard's old mates Teeflii, Ty Dolla $ign and TC4800 pop up on a tune or two each. YG is is conspicuous by his absence. Iamsu! from the HBK Gang is a fabulous new Mustard trump card. Iamsu! should be as big as Kanye and perhaps he will be. He's got the pop smarts with a delivery that's 2010s rap perfection. Broke Boy is soo good, surely it would be a no 1 smash if released as a single. Mustard is upping the R&B dosage and cutting back the banger intake but that's not a bad thing at all. There's nothing worse than a tune wanting to be a banger but not working. RJ & Choice are pretty much killing everything they do in 2015 and somehow Mustard leaves room to let their idiosyncrasies ferment even further. Dijon (Mustard geddit?) surely realises he's struck gold with these two artists and compliments RJ & Choice with his beats rather than upstaging them. Previously it sometimes sounded like Mustard's rappers had been given a completed beat where they had to try to fit their raps to it, no matter how unaccommodating it may have been. Now it feels like Mustard is more flexible, organic and collaborative. I don't know if he's changed his working methods but it sure sounds like it. Last year I thought DJ Mustard had reached some kind of sonic arrested development but here he proves, with a little perseverance, that he is still mutating. Regression is part of this move ie. several tunes go further back than his past retro-activities ie. some songs reference stuff earlier than Dre circa 92/93 or mid 90s Three Six Mafia. Some of this stuff has got 80s R&B, funk and slow jam vibes. I guess he was always tipping his hat to these zones but perhaps not as deliberately or explicitly as he does here. Then you would swear Shooters was an instrumental outtake from Tricky's Maxinquaye. Actually come to think of it a few tracks have a Massive Attack/Trip-Hop feel. I haven't counted but there seems to be less military chanting on Vol. 1. which is probably a good thing as that started to seem a little formulaic and stale. I don't know who Justine Sky is but fuck she gives Cassie and Tinashe a run for their money on Love. This mixtape ain't no Ketchup but it also ain't no bloody 10 Summers either ie. I'm not deleting this off my computer, I'm about to give it another spin. Dj Mustard is transitioning. Let's hope he continues to in a good direction.

Fridge Trax Plus - General Magic & Pita

What's On The Hi-Fi Part 41

FRIDGE TRAX PLUS- GENERAL MAGIC & PITA

Never had this one back in the day. I saw Pita live once that was odd and I had that General Magic album Frantz. So this 2015 reissue features both the original Fridge Trax (95) EP plus the Live & Final Fridge (96) cd. These sounds originate from microphones in fridges. It really compliments my recent Conrad Schnitzler and Ekoplekz listening. My own fridge sometimes sounds like it has got a groaning man inside and on other occasions it sounds like there's a party going on in there. Maybe I should record it as a tribute to these Mego guys. Anyway they fucked with the fridge source recordings and made two classics of 90s electronica (for want of a better term). 90s electronic abstract goodness. Delve deep into the ambient, rhythmic, almost funky and strange droning netherworld of fridges. This is pretty awesome stuff.

FRANTZ - GENERAL MAGIC

All this of course has led me back the aforementioned debut cd from General Magic, Frantz. I even found an old Farmers Manual cd I'd pretty much forgotten about, FSCK. On this mission I also came across more old cds made by Germans in the 90s like Oval, Lithops, Pluramon. Wabi Sabi, Hecker, Microstoria and Mouse On Mars, but i haven't listened to those yet except one. Anyway Frantz is surprisingly a great listen today. I can't stand the use of the word abstract in music writing. Sometime in the 90s its usage became overused and lost its meaning in the process. In the 90s Frantz and Fridge Trax would both have had this term applied to them ad nauseum by the critics of the day. Anyway General Magic are coming from abstract 70s Schnitzler zones whether they were aware of him or not. This is low key electronic ambient soft noise with added randomness. 90s technoid vibes mix with historical electronic music flavas here. General Magic play with these soundz to a microscopic degree giving it a peculiar scientific almost muzak vibe 90s stylee. This cd is hard not to like, in fact I think it has risen in my estimation since 1997. Frantz has gone from forgotten little gem to a classic of 90s electronic zones.

IT ISO 16191975 - HECKER

This is the other 90s German thing I did give a little listen to. Florian Hecker, who I also saw live once and I vaguely recall it being a pretty good show with lots of visual glitchy super 8 film sort of stuff. The visual element really added to the soundz. Listening to IT ISO 16191975 today without any visual accompaniment is a strange experience. I can't really recall what I made of this cd at the time but I guess that glitch aesthetic was all the rage back then before it got totally overdone a couple of years later. I was left a little flummoxed by it all yesterday, I must say. Hey that's probably a compliment if art is still doing that 17 or so years after its creation. It starts out with +1 which is 7 minutes of barely audible hums and drones. +2 is slightly louder with its minute drones, miniature oscillator feedback and subtle short wave sounds that are manipulated glitch stylee. +4 could be rain or static for the first two minutes then a dub glitch vibe ensues with sound sources untraceable. Maybe there's a note from a keyboard in amongst the rumbling silence. Pop music this sure ain't. This is difficult listening that could also be ignored unless you really pump up the volume high on your sound system. Get flummox reward points here.

ELEMENTS OF CHANCE - IAN BODDY

Jonny over at Die Or DIY? (see right hand side Other Stuff) alerted me to this classic tape from 1981 by Ian Boddy. Boddy was a UK analogue synth chap doing Kosmische electronics past their use by date, some classic early drum machine action plus a bit of minimalism too. Elements Of chance takes in new age type vibes and dark ambient noises as well. You could slap a Panabrite label on here and I would be none the wiser. I mean that in the best possible sense for everyone mentioned! This is very good stuff. There is another Boddy tape posted over there as well, looking forward to listening to that.

O.M.M.I.O.2 - RJ
DRILLUMINATI 3 - KING LOUIE
INTROVERSION - STARLITO

I don't know what has happened to my appetite for rap? I thought this one might get me back into the swing of things from the mean streets of the USA but I'm not fully diggin II but it certainly has many a fine moment. It opens on a particularly high note with Blue Face Hinnids where the sounds of Mustard, HBK Gang & Larry Jay are becoming so intertwined I don't even know who's on the beat here, it could be someone else entirely? It's probably not RJ's fault that my vibe has migrated away from these zones. II sounded like a fuckin masterpiece (well it's kinda 3/4 of one really anyway) next to King Louie's new one Drilluminati 3 and he's been one of my favourite rappers of the last few years. I was a fan of Drilluminati (1) so it's hard to believe I immediately deleted this but that's what happened. Free stuff eh? See maybe if Drilluminati 3 wasn't free I'd probably have bought it and then spent more time with it due to the financial investment. This may not have improved the actual contents but it may have given it time to grow on me. Having said that I've just had one quick listen to Starlito's new Introversion and it sounds alright. Two out of Three ain't bad so maybe I'm not done just yet with the rap game.

Drop That Kitty - TY$ Feat. Charli XCX & Tinashe

Here we go 2015 has begun this sounds pretty good. Via Juicy J on twitter, He approves. They go low.

Mustard on the beat here. Dunno about this one yet. I really like those keyboards toward the end though

Rap Mixtapes - Influx Inertia 2

Lovin the cover! Surely he'll get sued?

This (above) is coming soon, looking froward to that. Future's just put out another mixtape. I haven't had time to check out the last one properly yet or his LP of last year. In a minute he's putting out anotherbloody one with Young Scooter. The Rap Mixtape Inertia continues. Boogie have finally been been given a listen and their Thirst 48 sounds pretty good so it's missed mixtape purgatory as has Goldlink's The God Complex. I came across RJ & Choice's Rich Off Mackin which has Mustard on the beat throughout so that could be good? Or maybe not. Chief Keef's at it again but I've barely been able been able to give the last two mixtapes a go let alone his LP. Then we've got a Rome Fortune collaboration with OC Maco Yep and yep I'll listen to it one day this year possibly. Now I feel like I need to reassess OC Maco because one of my favourite rappers, Mr Fortune, thinks he's worthwhile collaborating with! Lil Wayne makes a return with Sorry for the Wait 2 which I just read on twitter has been downloaded a quarter of million times already on Datpiff after less than a day. Cheddar Da Connect's Catchin Playz 2 is currently getting a hearing here.???. Piling up are Young Scooter, Rae Sremmurd, Lil Herb, Juicy J, Mike 'Will Made It', Young L, Drake and all the blah blah mentioned in that previous post. The Zuse mixtape Illegal Immigrant is becoming a 2015 favourite. There has been like over 30 mixtapes alone released at LiveMixtapes this week so far. Then there's a whole bunch of artists who I've never heard of and perhaps it should stay that way. Someone needs to stop the clock and let the future shock dwindle a little. Imagine being a Gucci Mane fanatic? How exhausting would that be? All I want is Club God 4! Where is it?

To Download Or Not To Download?

******* STOP THE PRESS *******

The ClubGodzilla himself informs me on twitter that Club God 4 will be issued on February the 3rd. I'm guessing as a free mixtape, probably on i-tunes as well. I dunno? Wouldn't a physical LP be cool? We'll see, I mean I saw Kool John did a cd of his classic free mixtape $hmopcity.

Tinashe With Mustard Again

Just saw this. This is what we want Tinashe working with DJ Mustard. I dunno if this is anywhere near as good as 2 On but then again how many tunes are?

I did like this one from her album Aquarius. Mustard not on this beat though, but he might as well have been.

Where To Begin

There's been a stack of new things recently that I just haven't got around to listening to yet. There's been a batch of new releases from the west country noise farmers doing their mad cow diseased electronics and gumboot industrial ie. IX-Tab, Kemper Norton, Howlround, Ekoplekz but I think I've missed Hacker Farm's tape as it sold out before I even heard about it. Plus there's more on the way soon from their hauntological cousins The Advisory Circle and I assume the usual season's greetings from Moon Wiring Club. Some very old faves have been busy too The Church, Einsturzende Neubauten (must admit haven't listened to a new record of theirs since Ende Neu) and Scott Walker (no I haven't listened to it yet! Perhaps tonight's the night). Some slightly younger old faves Fennesz and Vladislav Delay (remember Multila?, he was also Luomo) have new records too. When the hell will I listen to all these? Mike Fresh, Vell, Future, Cheif Keef, Salva, Lil Boosie, King Louie and many others have new mixtapes over in the trap/ratchet zones. Then we've got Beatking Presents Houston Vs Everybody which is a compilation featuring Houston's finest plus Beatking's Club God 4 is on its way too! I can't wait for the new Kevin Gates album The Luca Brasi Story II which is also coming soon.

I've only just got around to listening to The Interweb Halloween bonanza of mixes. There were two from Death Waltz which I managed to download but I think you can only stream them now. They are both as you would expect excellent. Andy Votel from Finders Keepers put in a sterling effort as well with his Histoire Dhorreur Mix. I don't know if you can still download that but have a search. Then there was something a bit different over at Blog To The Old School. They usually do a darkside jungle mix at Halloween but this year they put together a compilation of recent jungle on the dark tip. Check it out if you get the chance, although they seem to be offline presently.

What Have I been listening to then you may well ask? Ariel Pink's Pom Pom is pretty hard to get off the hi-fi, i-pod etc. But when I do get it off I'm trying to figure out what the hell the attraction to Gucci Mane is. I've got a selection of like 10 of his recommended best mixtapes and I'm giving them a go. I have to say I don't think it's going well for me and Gucci so far. I can't really understand what he's saying but the beats are stellar. He only registered on my musical map after seeing Spring Breakers. Then I only listened to him this year because of his collaborations with Young Thug. These mixtapes with Mane & Thug were not a patch on Young Thug's 2013 mixtape 1017 Thug or Young Thug's brilliant 2014 collaboration with Bloody Jay Black Portland or even his more recent collaboration with Rich Homie Quan & Birdman as part of The Rich Gang whose mixtape Tha Tour I've previously posted about. I'm wondering if Gucci should stick to acting but that might be a bit hard as he's doing some time for assault and firearm charges. The only one that's stood out so far is The Movie 2: The Sequel released in 2012. This could be due to it's guests though Snoop, Trey Songs, Nicki Minaj, Waka Flacka and Shawty Lo. There are choice beats and many hooks though. We'll see, although I might retire that project for a bit to catch up on what's going on now.

"Spring Break...." Gucci Mane.

Now I have had a few listens to IX-Tab's R.O.C. (get it here) and it's sounding pretty good to these ears so far. More thoughts on this later. One track has a sample of a hypnotist/meditation guru and I swear it's put me to sleep three times, sure I've been in bed and on painkillerz but....

The only other thing I've given a quick listen to is Vell's Stay Down To Come Up. Don't know much about him except he's a young chap from Oakland and he's doin some fine ratchet. He's got Mustard on the beat on 5 trax here as well as YP Spoelestra on a handful of tunes. So he's in good hands. His rap delivery is occasionally a little too close to Jay-Z but he sings as well giving him enough originality to get by. Perhaps this is what 10 Summers should have been. YP is on an unbelievable roll at the moment. So Vell is definitely a rising star, whether he can transcend his influences or not time will tell. Stay Down To Come up will be getting more air time round here as opposed to Salva's highly rated Peacemaker which left me cold. Can't understand the fuss about that one but who cares?, I suppose.

Rich Gang - Tha Tour Part 1

I must admit I kept looking at this on Datpiff and wondered 'To download or not to download? That is the question.' It looked like it would be a bit like last year's Boss Yo Life Up Gang mixtape which was Jeezy, Doughboyz Cashout & YG. It had a few good moments ie. DJ Mustard's trax but the rest hasn't stuck with me, maybe I'll have another listen to it actually. Mixtapes are free and hey this has got Young Thug on it, so surely it's a no brainer plus Rich Homie Quan's Still Goin In Reloaded mixtape from last year was one of the finest. I finally downloaded it. I was enjoying it a lot, until I realised this phrase 'Rich Gang' was being drilled into my head, like every 15 seconds. This started to gnaw away at my brain to the point that 5 or 6 listens in I couldn't take it anymore and had to switch it off. It was a bit like havin someone with Tourette's Syndrome yelling 'Rich Gang' at you for over an hour! Hey Birdman I know it's free and all and I don't want to seem ungrateful but surely the point is to get us to listen to the tape, not turn it off. The 'Rich Gang' phrase was used to the point of overkill. Maybe less should have been is more in this case. Having said all that I was enjoying Tha Tour. Flava's got a great spooky theremin going throughout, makin it a hell of a tasty track. I Know It 's beat is a dub-meets ratchet vibe that's irresistible, surely it could be a hit single. Throw Your Hood Up had me going back to and reassessing DJ Mustard's neglected (by me) 10 Summers as it has a tune with the same title. Imma Ride, Bullet, Who's On Top, 730, War Ready and Pull Up also stood out at this point of listening.The rest was probably gonna grow on me but if I return to the tape, I fear, I might get pushed over the edge by the 'Rich Gang' chant. Which is a real shame. Maybe these tunes are elsewhere, or on i-tunes, without that repeated phrase. Hope so.

er....this wasn't on the tape! Tune of the year?
Only 2 subtle Rich Gang mentions.

Ratchet & Trap Explained Part 2

"That description of ratchet doesn't really capture the stylistic essence of things like "Rack City" and all that followed it, though does it - "simple rhythms, kicks and claps, squelchy synth bass" - i'm not sure i can do any better, though! Deceptively simple, i think would be the first nuance i'd add. Mustard's tracks are like Dre's classic beats, in way -- not doing anything very flashy or obviously avant, but real groovy. harder than it looks, i'll bet. With Mustard, the signature features are the snare rolls with the paradiddle-like military feel, the HEY!HEY!HEY!HEY! Marine-regiment doing-drill chants, and, more recently, those re purposed and slowed-down 90s house licks and vamps."

This was left on the comments page of Ratchet & Trap Explained by the one and only Simon Reynolds. Now that's an explanation of Mustard & his ratchet. Onya Simon! To tell you the truth I thought Anonymous may have been him or some other such luminary.

DJ Mustard - 10 Summers

How Is He Going To Top This?

With this?

I don't know if he can top 2013's number 1 sonic document, his Ketchup mixtape, with his follow up 10 Summers. Judging by the little radio skits that contain nothing but past Mustard hits toward the end of this album. Where someone keeeps flicking the dial on the radio only to find old Mustard hits, I think he's already feeling his past as a bit of an albotross. Perhaps he's looking for a way forward or just something as classic as My Nigga, Rack City, I'm Different, Show Me, Paranoid, 2 On, Lady Killa, Midnight Run et al.

Part 2 coming up of my appraisal of 10 Summers. Once I've had more than a few listens. Stay tuned for the next episode of DJ Mustard's 10 Summers.

Ratchet & Trap Explained

"Trap = derived from southern "gangsta" rap; particularly mid-2000s stuff like gucci mane, young jeezy, t.i. lots of intricate, rattling 808 percussion & snare sounds along with booming kick drums and bass. a lot of the original producers used a lot of big wall-of-sound, gothic sounding synths and there was a noticeable influence from electronic genres like trance and electro, but filtered through a rap production aesthetic. now a huge influence on rap, r&b and electronic music, and the production is often a lot sleeker and less bombastic."

 "Ratchet = term for the recent production style that draws on hyphy (e-40, keak da sneak, mistah fab etc), jerk music, crunk and g-funk. lots of simple rhythms, kicks and claps, squelchy synth bass. i think the term was originally used by lil boosie in Louisiana but now usually refers to west coast rap and r&b stuff like dj mustard, yg, ty dolla sign etc."

*This was left by an anonymous commenter. Thanks Anonymous I think you know your shit!

They've intermingled and cross-pollinated though haven't they and not just with each other but most other forms of 90s electronic music and some 90s rap ie. 666 Mafia, right?

Sex, Drugs & R&B, Ratchet, Trap etc...With Cassie, Young Thug & Gucci Mane

Wow, I haven't heard the word heroin or been around it since the 90s. That was probably the last time it was fashionable, but hello it's one of Cassie's drugs of choice along with cocaine. This tunes got a bassline straight out of a 90s Metalheadz tune don't you reckon? Or maybe a No U Turn tech-step track. Maybe heroin's makin a comeback. I mean they're all into codeine so I don't see why not.

It's pretty clear here what Young Thug wants. He'll have a spliff and two cups stuffed with Lean. He be from Atalanta. Is there something in the water down there? I mean apart from cough mixture?

Well this one's pretty self explanatory. Weed & Lean be the drugs of choice here. You can really get inside this track's luxuriant wasted vibe, even without the weed & Lean. But they would help.

Great beatz from my main man DJ Mustard. It's a shame Mane didn't write a good song on top of it. More references to lean and not being able to feel your face. They're still on about gettin some pussy even though they've had so much lean they feel like they're "from outer space". That 'Hmm' bit is so irritating it ruins one of the best beats Mustard ever put down. What a waste.

2 On -Tinashe, Drake & Other Remixes.

This is pretty much a Drake version of 2 On and it's pretty good but not really bettering the original. After the first minute of Tinashe's original he takes it over and makes it his own for the rest of the tune.

Then there's this which is pretty odd but this stays Tinashe's track. Although the whole vibe of the tune is moved to somewhere else not as compelling. The rap ain't anywhere near as good as the original Schoolboy Q cameo though. What was Vado thinking? How on earth was he gonna top one of the great rap cameos of all time? He shouldn't have even bothered. I imagine Schoolboy Q being not too threatened by its lameness. I love that string loop thing though, nice. Remixes: What were they for again?

The Original and Best Version. 2014 Classic!

Leave It - Mustard & Iggy?

This has been on a couple of DJ Mustard 2014 mixtapes. I know I've seen a couple of videos from Iggy Azalea* so I was a little surprised that this one was her. I'm not sure if this even made it onto her album. The intro (and pretty much the rest) is pure Kraftwerk, goin back to hip hop's roots. Mustard doesn't put his usual "Mustard On The Beat Hoe" trademark on this tune which makes me wonder if it's him at all? His other sonic trademarks are here though but he's got imitators who are according to him are"Fucking up the Money!"

*Ok I can see the contradiction here (ie. she be an Aussie) and no I'm not currently listening to Andre Rieu. But here's a funny picture for you all, if you missed it last year on Twitter. Have a good look. I can't get enough of this!

Crunk Gabba & What (ever else)

DJ Snake & Lil Jon - Turn Down For What (via Energy Flash). I always like it when any kind of rave, hardcore or electronic vibe turns up in rap. Do these people even acknowledge Gabba, PCP, Cold Rush, Belgium etc. I know years back Timbaland being very cagey about his influences. Many people at the time were thinking it had to be comin from jungle, drum n bass etc. IE the UK. I don't think he ever owned up to it though. It's like Americans can't stand having to acknowledge anything European influenced. Like it's un-American or in some way or weakens their art. Funny considering Afrika Bambaataa's Planet Rock sampled Krafwerk in the very early days of hip hop (1982). DJ Snake is French though, I think, so he's kinda bringin the Euro vibe like Gesaffelstein did with Kanye last year.

Anyway I was thinking with one of the brands of Lean off the market now, (haven't done the research to see if there are still other brands still making it) what affect is that gonna have on the whole Ratchet/DJ Mustard scene. I guess the track above is one direction, kind of like a noise made for Meth-Heads. The pummel with surely appeal to people mixing alcohol & Meth & whatever else. Ecstasy and pot ain't goin nowhere though. Perhaps the downer euphoria will dwindle a little. Stay tuned.

Lean & Mustard

Mustard On The Beat (at) Ho(me) still. Love the bass pressure in this one. Doesn't August Alsina (and Mustard brings his a game on the beat) just capture losing it perfectly, that point where you're so wasted (sorry faded), just when it's all gonna go pear shaped. Cough mixture be the drink of choice among this lot, Reynolds reliably informs me. I was comparing the wasted sound of this scene' tunes to being sonically akin to mixing painkillaz (and by that I mean codeine or Oxycontin) with alcohol & whatever else. Dextromethorphan is a popular ingredient in cough medicine in America, which in high doses can causes hallucinations. But the cough mixture of choice is the one containing codeine and promethazine. It all reminds me of a story Jim Carroll wrote in his book Forced Entries, if memory serves, about the New York scene in the early 70s. When there was a heroin shortage they'd get into the cough syrup with the codeine in it, just get it over the counter at the Chemist (Aussie term for drugstore) no questions asked.  There was a great Townes Van Zandt track too, Waitin' around to die, that was a love song of sorts to one his many drugs of choice codeine. Now kids and the rappers mix these syrups with soda and call it lean which my brother in law told me about last year. I think I was asking him "what do you reckon is in those red polystyrene cups in all these music videos?" He then said "You mean lean." I went "right" thinking it was something like what the Peruvian musicians have been into since the 60s, Chicha. Chicha being an old Inca alcoholic drink that was used in rituals and festivals. Anyway I was a bit off the mark. Actavis (the pharmaceutical company) even pulled the plug on production on their Promethazine Codeine syrup a month ago due to its growing cult and the way it's being abused. Lean apparently causes euphoria along with motor skill impairment and a dissociative feeling from other parts of the body("I can't feel my face, I'm so numb") . Some rappers have even been overdose victims of Lean mixed with other substances. The promethazine is the catalyst for intensifying the euphoric effects of the codeine in your system. There's a whole list of other slang names for Lean: Purple Drank, Sizzurp, Texas Tea etc.

A cumbia/Chica tune from 1970. Sex Drugs & Tropical Chicha! Good vibes on this one man.

Sex Drugs & Ratchet

DJ Mustard's still on the beat round these parts. Reynolds mentions a few more here This one I can't deny. I love that minimal spooky fade out at the end but Mustard makes spooky a 'subdued mood of depressive hedonism.'* That's the best description I've heard so far of this sub genre of a sub genre.

Mustard has turned me around on other things. I couldn't get into this at all when it came out. I knew the sonic production was v cool. I thought it was depressing though but now I get that downer euphoric vibe. Like painkillaz and alcohol. I'm not even sure what other drugs this relates to weed, ice? A heroin-y E maybe? Anyway it's a hell of a vibe. Only took me 2 years to get it. Jesus what next Drake?

Actually It was probably this tune that got me to go back and listen to Kendrick Lamar's Good Kid... cd. How is Mustard not on this beat?

I hated Gas Pedal when I first heard it, then hated it again when I gave it another go. I think it was Reynolds who said (and I agreed) it was just a rip off of Snoop & Pharell's Drop It like Hot but then he had it in his singles of the year. So I gave it another go, still hated it. 5 months later now I'm fully into it. The druggy vibe can't be too wasted because they still be horny dudes. The vibe of this song encompasses a panopoly of drugs and alcohol while being on the prowl for some tush (kids, that means booty).

Then there's magic! (I know this is a bit off topic but it kinda fits.) I get chills every time I hear this. I mean it's pop, it's got hooks and it's so fucking anthemic I can't believe it. And I hate that whole New York cultural tyranny thing, makes me never wanna go there. But this song is so good it doesn't matter what it's about. It could be about my dog doing a poo and I'd still get chills every time I heard it. Z does mention E's, well MDMA during this track so that gives you an idea of where the euphoria in this lies. I mean apart from the songwriting and musical arrangement which is enough. A bit like MBV's best tunes it's so euphoric it feels like your on drugs anyway. This is the sonic equivalent of Champagne and an E chased with a few lines of coke.

Also I think this maybe the best pop tune in history.

*That's me paraphrasing a Simon Reynolds quote.

Mustard On The Beat Hoe

Mustard on the beat (at) ho(me) non stop. After Reynolds recent posts on all things Ratchet & B I'm on a Mustard bender. Love this one a lot it's got such a great pop chorus with a harp I think. Maybe not for mainstream radio with those lyrics but fuck me it's pop-tastic.

How bout this one?! It sounds like there's a sample of Laika circa Sound Of Satellites in there. Well it's the same keyboard sound/model anyway, last heard in a section of a Peaking Lights track. It wouldn't surprise me if Dijon was fan of either group. They've got more in common than you might think.

Wow DJ Mustard's even made J-Lo sound good. I'm sure she's had other good trax though, none come to mind at this moment.

This is sweet and yet so filthy. "Gettin faded till we trip." Lovin Schoolboy Q's guest spot on this. Best tune of 2014?

Speaking of best tunes of 2014 maybe this has pipped Tinashe at the post. The sound of being wasted/loved up science fiction stylee. Mustard not on this beat hoe.

Aural Splendour....and well I could keep posting Mustard trax all nite because there's way more.

Hip Hop I Ignored - An Introduction

Hip Hop goes retromania.

I've decided to do a little feature series along the lines of my Glaring Omissions series that I did about classic Australian albums that didn't make it into the greatest Australian albums book or The Age Newspaper's 50 best Australian albums list. This is going to be a bit different though. I once heard of a feature where they gave a bunch of rap guys a bunch of classic country albums to review or was it vice versa? It's a great concept either way. So with rap & hip hop never never being my main source of listening it should make this series slightly interesting. Being a bit of a dilettante sometimes leads you, due to financial and time constraints, to miss certain things and sometimes even massive pop cultural events. You can't be into everything.  So I'm gonna do 5 legendary, classic or canonical  Hip Hop LPs that I missed. There ain't gonna be any Wu Tang, PE, Beasties, Snoop, Diamond & The Psychotic Neurotics, De La Soul, Showbiz & AG, Tribe, Ice-T, Missy, Main Source, NWA, Pete Rock & CL Smooth etc. here as I caught them at the time. But there will be some massive surprises that I missed. I never got into Tupac & Biggie and really thought hip hop had run its course by the turn of the millennium despite now diggin some occasional current shit by Dj Mustard, Kanye, Raven Felix, Kendrick Lamar and Schoolboy Q. Is this shit a last gasp or a Renaissance? I do think there is some future life in that interzone between rap and R&B and all the micro-genres inbetween. Time will tell I guess. There will be no Aussie hip hop either as I'd rather listen to Andre Reiu than that shit! I guess this whole concept started to ferment inside my brain after watching Jimmy Fallon the other night where he introduced Nas who is now doing 20th anniversary concerts of his apparent classic Illmatic from 1994. So he's going to be first. Some consider this record the best rap has to offer. So I'm rather looking forward to it. I'm not even sure I know any of the tunes....I'll get back to you soon with the first instalment of Hip Hop I Ignored.

Schoolboy Q's 2014 track Studio is the biz.

Best Of 2013 - Archives, Compilations & Reissues

I think I'll start my end of year lists here as we are in the Retromania age.  I don't have to tell you 'new music in 2013 is just as good as in any era.' in a desperate tone to protect my brand so as to not lose my advertisers. I'll leave all that to those online magazine types. I guess it must be disheartening to be a youth in times such as these, you know, late in the epoch and atemporal etc. They have to try and make themselves believe that their culture is vibrant, alive and theirs because otherwise what have you got?  It's been a thin year for new musical output. Even in the experimental, dance and other usually exciting zones the good stuff is coming less and less. Hey I expected innovation and forward momentum in music to continue on until long after I was gone, I'm gettin ripped off too. So here's a list of great stuff from time.*

Conrad & Sohn - Conrad & Gregor Schnitzler (1981)

What the fuck is this? You may ask. Conrad the legendary German electronic pioneer did a one off LP with his then teenage son Gregor on bass and acid/sci-fi vocals and its fucking great. This is the best album you've never heard. (Yeah I know it's been kickin round the interweb for years but it never sounded this bloody good!)

Silber - Conrad Schnitzler (1974/75)
Another classic from my favourite German electronic guru. This is from the same era as the masterpiece Blau.

School Daze - Patrick Cowley (1973-81)
Porn soundtracks from the disco maestro who gave us the 16 minute extended version of Donna Summer's I Feel Love.

Purple Snow: Forecasting The Minneapolis Sound - Various
Sweet soul sounds and new wave funk of the late 70s/early 80s from the land of many lakes and er....Prince Rogers Nelson. Every once in a while a soul/funk compilation comes along and makes me think why would I listen to any other genre?

The Lost Tapes - Rodion GA (1978-83) 
Unreleased gold from Romania. These are the coolest Eastern European cyber-prog jamz you've n/ever heard.

Fragments Of Light - Sensations Fix (1974)

You gotta love a bit Italian space-prog from mid 70s Florence don't ya? Features Franco Falsini on guitar and synth.

It's You - Don Muro (1977)

Perplexing to say the least. Who'd have thought there was a missing link between Big Star and Tangerine Dream and that it'd be good?   

Celestial Music 1978-2011 - Laraaji (2013)

Every ones fave electronic zither player plays tunes for your spiritual enlightenment. 

I Am The Center: Private Issue New Age In America 1950-1990 - Various (2013)
Meet me on the astral plane.

Celestial Soul Portrait 1975-85 - Iasos (2013)
Meet me in the dimension beyond the astral plane. 

Re-Animator OST - Richard Band (1985)

Ever wondered what Bernard Herman would have sounded like with synthesised drums?

Solaris OST - Edward Artemyev (1972)

Awesome synthesiser score to Russia's most famous space movie. 

De Natura Sonorum - Bernard Parmegiani (1976)
20th Century French electronic composer gets his 70s classic reissued and then a few weeks later passes away. RIP.

GRM Works 1957-1962 - Iannis Xenakis (2013)

I've never heard a bad Xenakis record.

Kenya Special: Selected East African Recordings From the 1970s & 80s - Various (2013)

I thought maybe the 70s Afro/beat/disco/psych/funk/rock well may have dried up but no, Soundway move from West to East and bring us more unheard gold.

Who Is William Onyeabor? - William Onyeabor (2013)

Funnily enough I've been asking myself that question since Strut released that seminal Nigeria 70 compilation in 2001. That irresistible keyboard sound is total Guttertronics innit?

Half Dead Ganja Music - Vox Populi (1987)
Experimental ambient psychedelia from France in the 80s. This sounds like it could have come out of today's cassette underground and I mean that in a good way.

The Alchemist: The Best Of 1992-2012 - Goldie (2013)
Rufige Cru,  Metalheadz & Goldie give us drum n bass gold. Disc 1 in particular is da bomb.

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Best 2013 Mixtapes/Mixes/Podcasts etc....

Electro Chaabi for Avant-Guard Lovers - Various @ Soundcloud
Egyptian revolutionary jamz & stuff. Mixed by CLF.

Ketchup - DJ Mustard with Various Artists @ datpiff.com 
The sonic document of 2013. Ratchet = the future of rap and R&B or at least the exciting present.

1017 Thug - Young Thug @ datpiff.com
The coolest and most bizarre rapper ever.

Up/Down - Various @ ASoundAwareness
2 Choice mixes of Italian Library/Soundtrack music from David Thrussel, the man behind Omni Recording Corporation.

The Gold & Silver Dream (1971-82) - Various @?
Tribute to Daft Punk's Random Access Memories.

I Can't Beleive How Dark It is - Various @blogtotheoldschool
Old school darkside mix from Dev/null.

Dawn Of The Synth - Various @ EdiaboliksWorldOfPsychotronicSoundtracks
Synth Soundtracks mix.

Fact Mix 380- Various @FACT
The Black Dog present old school bleep and beyond.

Midnite in Europe Mix - Various @?
Moon Wiring Club Mix of 90s electronica.

Orange Dawn - Various @SonicRampage
90s Tech-Step mix from Pearsall.

Actual Pirate Material - Various @SonicRampage
Mid 90s jump up jungle mix by Pearsall.