November 13th, 2009
If Dibiase does not win the title of best beatmaker in Los Angeles, he will buy it from a thespian giant named Andre who may or may not hail from Grenoble France. As this is a tough belt to win, I hope he is saving his diamonds and gold bullion. Unlike the Million Dollar Man, the Watts-born beatmaker understands the value of paying dues, as he’s bounced around for over a decade, honing his craft at Blowed, Unity, and Sketch, the forerunner to the Low End Theory. Of late, he’s finally said his prayers and taken his vitamins, with Alpha Pup set to release his debut LP soon, on the heels of a Low End performance this summer that hit me like a folding chair over the head (no referees).
Like everyone else affiliated with the beat scene, you can trace his sound through the usual suspects: Madlib and Dilla, Primo and Pete Rock, et. al. But Dibiase’s love of old-skool Nintendo is rivaled only by the Bristol producers, as he’s recently flipped RC Pro-Am, Castlevania, and Mega Man 3 with ease. I remain patient to hear the re-constituted versions of Baseball Stars and Tecmo Bowl–perhaps tonight when the erstwhile Diabolic takes over the Hyperion Tavern, which some knucklehead recently claimed hosts the best weekend electronic beats in town. Also playing is Dak, who records for Matthew David’s Leaving Records imprint, and provides conclusive evidence that either the depth of local talent is limitless, or I have smoked myself retarded. Maybe both.
YouTube videos of both Dibiase’s below the jump, complete with Bobby the Brain and Gorilla Monsoon’s Manichean dialectic. The World Wrestling Federation was deep.
Download:
MP3: Dibiase-”Cubaser Laser”
MP3: Dibiase-”May the Force”
MP3: Dak-”For the Sun”
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Posted in Alpha Pup, Dibiase, Beats, Low End Theory | No Comments »
November 10th, 2009
After years of blogging, you’d think I’d learn my lesson and not invoke grandiose posts that traffic, migraines, and malingering conspire to prevent me from writing. But despite the linguistic similarity to my surname, I am not wise. So perhaps something on Attention Deficit tomorrow, perhaps not. In the meantime, a fulfilled promise alluded to two weeks ago: a long-form feature on Jason Chung, a.k.a. Nosaj Thing, a.k.a. the best thing from Cerritos since Cerritos Auto Square. (RIP Big Ern)
The article is my first for Resident Adviser, the dance and electronic music magazine extraordinaire. For those chagrined that Stylus is no more, Todd Burns, ex-chairman of the Sty, currently runs RA and has reunited many of my former colleagues. It is very much worth adding to your RSS feed– if you’re into that sort of thing. In the interim, more Nosaj rarities. Know what I mean.
Download:
MP3: Jogger-”Nice Tights” (Nosaj Thing Remix)
MP3: Daedelus-”It’s Madness” (Nosaj Thing Remix)
MP3: Low End Theory Podcast (D-Styles & Nosaj Thing)
Posted in Resident Adviser, Nosaj Thing, Beats, Low End Theory | 3 Comments »
October 14th, 2009
Thanks to Gorilla Vs. Bear, I’ve been checking for St. Louis’ phaseone for a minute now and have been consistently impressed with his remixes of Animal Collective, Fool’s Gold and Radiohead. His latest mixtape finds him fusing Bon Iver and El-P. For his final feat, he will remix Vampire Weekend while wearing a khaffiyeh, a flannel shirt, and twirling his mustache, Snidely Whiplash-style. Don’t be fooled by the shrewd buzz-building selections, at his core Andrew Jernigan is a beatmaker lining up in the endless post-Dilla queue. Superficially, phase’s influences are diffuse, but seem more indicative of the restless polyglot impulses of the Internet era than a contrived pose. As far as phases go, we could do much worse.
ZIP: Phaseone-White Collar Crime (Left-Click)
Posted in Beats | 11 Comments »
