So quoth the Million Dollar Man: everybody has their price. Thankfully, this is free. Also, the employment of “Fish” midway through Daddy Kev’s set is just an impeccable decision.
Download:
MP3: Low End Theory Podcast IX: Daddy Kev and Dibiase
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”
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)
The mutual admiration society between Daedelus and The Low End Theory always made sense. Since ‘01, Alfred Darlington (he of the best chops since Ambrose Burnside), has aspired towards a futuristic blur of hip-hop, dance, and grimy, glitchy beats–the same combination favored at the Lincoln Heights hang-out. Last year, he dropped Live at Low End Theory on Daddy Kev’s Alpha Pup label, a record aptly described by Mike Orme, as “gauzy re-interpretations of his own work [that] take on a whole new life as dance music just as critics and fans were writing him off as a niche commodity.”
Since then, the dapper Daedelus has stayed consistently on-point, most recently making the de rigeur stop on Mary Ann Hobbs BBC1 show last Wednesday and dropping a mix of unreleased and classic material from his Ninja Tune and Plug Research catalogue. Along for the ride is Brainfeeder prospect, Lorn, who laces a similarly scorching set from his own stash. Somewhere along the way, there are Joy Orbison, Nosaj Thing, Shackleton, and Madvillain tunes. Good times.
Download:
ZIP: Daedelus & Lorn on Mary Anne Hobbs (10/22/09) (Left-Click)
I can’t believed I missed this. Then again, while this went down, I was watching a face- melting performance from Wooden Shjips in front of 100 people at the crackerbox Hemlock Tavern. A worthwhile consolation if there ever was. For those who don’t know, the Low End Theory Beat Invitationals find the club inviting the best producers around and asking them to play their latest greatest beat that they’ve never played prior.
Accordingly, the clips capture new previously unheard Flying Lotus and Samiyam. The video didn’t come out, but the audio is surprisingly clear. Thanks to Dzame for posting these.
Nosaj Thing elaborating on the inspirations behind Drift, which is increasingly looking top five for the year. I recommend listening at 35,000 feet at 3 a.m with a pair of steroid-strong headphones and zonked on a quart of red wine. Yours Truly also captures Jason Chung rocking his tracks live with surprising style and flair (37-plus pieces). A long feature on the backwards spelling beatmaker is coming soon. In the meantime, another cut from Drift and a Boris remix that the Alpha Pup-signed artist recently did for a Scion-sponsored comp. What more could you ask for?
Download:
MP3: Nosaj Thing-”IOIO”
MP3: Nosaj Thing-”Buzz In (Boris Remix)”
Recently admitted to the Red Bull Music Academy in London in 2010, the first lady of the Brainfeeder Camp (according to the Flying Lotus himself) drops her rendering of Tweet’s “Call Me” in celebration. First Hud Mo, now TOKiMONSTA–remixing Tweet is the new remixing Animal Collective. Or the old Animal Collective. Either way, I’m fairly sure there are some animal sounds involved somewhere.
The cut stays in the vein of what you’d expect from the Low End Theory camp, blunted intergalactic-beats and heart-palpitating drums. I could listen to this stuff all day (and I pretty much do). It is only a matter of time before Jennifer Lee is the heart-throb of beat junkies everywhere.
Download:
MP3: TOKiMONSTA-”Call Me Remix”
MP3: TOKiMONSTA-”You Don’t Need Some Pepto, You Need Some Beats” Mix
Bakersfield is Buck Owens and Merle Haggard territory. A dust-choked, sun-split farm town of about 300,000 people. Geographically, it is roughly 100 miles north of Los Angeles. Culturally, it is about 10,000. If you look hard enough, you can find 10 gallon-hats, spurs, rodeos, and most terrifying of all, vast hordes of people who pre-ordered Sarah Palin’s book. The most famous band to emerge from Bakersfield in the last 20 years is Korn. Not only would you not expect to find one of the brightest lights of wonky/dubstep/beat-culture in Bakersfield, you’d be hard-pressed to find anything vaguely hip-hop. Unless you count that time that Korn had Ice Cube on their album. We won’t count that.
The few things I miss about Los Angeles: Fred 62, tacos and pregnant burritos at El Nopal, F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Cat), The Low End Theory. In my absence, I’ve been getting my fix by discovering the podcasts available for free download from the Lincoln Heights beat music mecca. Everyone from Nosaj Thing, to Ras G, to Mary Anne Hobbs. All worth your time and at the right price. Now if only El Nopal delivered.
MP3: Episode 1: Mixes by Daddy Kev and SAMIYAM
MP3: Episode 2: Mixes by Nobody and Mike Slott
MP3: Episode 3: Mixes by Gaslamp Killer and Ras G
MP3: Episode 4: Mixes by D-Styles and Nosaj Thing
MP3: Episode 5: Mixes by Daddy Kev and Daedelus
MP3: Episode 6: Mixes by Nobody and Mono/Poly
MP3: Episode 7: Mixes by Gaslamp Killer and Mary Anne Hobbs
The inevitable but ostensibly overreaching contrast between The Smell and the Low End Theory comes into clearer focus when you hear the new Flying Lotus and No Age EP’s side by side. While earlier recordings displayed a heavy emphasis on their hip-hop and punk roots, their latest offerings drift towards more ambient soundscapes, as though Steven Ellison, Dean Spunt and Randy Randall spent the last three months smoking Golden Kush and listening to Discreet Music. While neither offering is going to make you put down your copy of Nouns or Los Angeles anytime soon, both offer glimpses into both their versatility and record collection.
It makes sense that three Valley kids steeped on sun and smog would intuitively understand how to distill that haze into a wobbling beauty. Either way, these guys are probably the best products of the San Fernando Valley since Boogie Knights. Well, them and Poquito Mas.
Download:
MP3: Flying Lotus-”Endless White”
Stream: No Age-Losing Feeling EP
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