Tag Archives: J Dilla
Dilla Documentary
You guys seen this yet? Documentary about Dilla, three parts, you tube, check it.
The Jacksons in Africa
I sort of slept on this Dr. No’s Ethiopium album when it came out a couple of months ago, mostly because the label released it in conjunction with their own brand of fair-trade coffee, which seemed kind of weak. Turns out it’s actually fucking mint. Basically Stones Throw turned Oh No (aka Michael Jackson aka Madlib’s brother aka the dude who made this banger) loose on a stack of old Ethiopian jazz & funk records, and he made beats out of them. Simples. This is my favourite:
Oh No – Juke Joint (right click to download)
Anyways since then, big brother Otis has been getting in on the act too. The third installment in his one-a-month Medicine Show series is Beat Konducta in Africa, which looks equally super-dope-fresh.
Madlib – The Frontline (Liberation) (you know the drill)
Get ’em here.
Oh, and they’ve done a J Dilla x Serato thing too. Just saying. In case anyone feels the urgent desire to buy me a present…
Tuesday Afternoon Blue Note
Heres a BIG mellow blue note for your tuesday afternoon . . .
Donald Byrd and Think Twice, which is not only an amazing track but was also ‘flipped’ for the ‘erection section’ by non other than J Dilla
The Inaugural LWAPD “Tune’dem of the Year” Awards, brought to you in association with R.White’s Lemonade*
Ah, Christmas… a time for mistletoe, mulled wine, and geeky best-something-of-the-year lists created by losers on the internet. Without further ado, here’s Tommy Digital’s Top Five Records of the Oh-Nine. Where’s yours?
1. Joker / 2000f & J Kamata – Digidesign / You Don’t Know What Love Is
This is sort of cheating because by rights these should be numbers one and two respectively. But since Hyperdub were kind enough to put dubstep’s most melodic moment and the the world’s first/only electro-vocoder-crunkstep tune on the same 12″, I reckon it’s okay. Two copies essential.
Joker – Digidesign
2000f & J Kamata – You Don’t Know What Love Is
He ain’t a crook, son…
If y’allz don’t check out SHOOK magazine then… well you probably should. It rose out of the ashes of Straight No Chaser, made by a bunch of the same people and still with a lot of the artwork done by the legendary Swifty. The main difference from Chaser is that there’s a bit less jazz and a bit more hip-hop. Also comics.
Anways they’ve got a cool little interview with beatmaker and hallucinogen-enthusiast Flying Lotus up at the minute, where he runs down his top five tunes like EVER.
“I think that beat is a perfect beat. The mix is just so perfect, it’s a great reference point for any EQ-ing. A lot of people use Dr. Dre as a reference when they’re mastering but I think that’s as close as it gets to classic Dre mixing. It’s just a dope song. The snare drum on that is from this disco tune. It’s just incredible. Dilla at his finest I’d say. The EQ-ing, the samples, all the melodic stuff that’s happening, it’s so musical. And it’s so pretty. That’s the beat that’s hard to deny. It’s also one of those beats that can blend well with anything, so I play that song in almost all my DJ sets. I think it’s perfect.”
So I dug out Fantastic Volume II and it turns out he’s not wrong: Players is awesome. If you don’t know, get to know.
Slum Village – Players
Do yourself a favour and don’t put it on the laptop speakers.
TURN IT UP.
Wu Vid
So that Raekwon tune by J Dilla I posted a few weeks back, well the video is SICK! in both senses of the word.
I’m a cover lover, brother
Just come across the absolute treasuretrove that is lpcoverlover.com (courtesy of The bPm). It pretty much does exactly what you’d think it does, and there’s a proper variety of everything from religious weirdness, comedy moog animals, sexy-times covers and absolutely killer design classics. Thought I’d throw in a bit of suggested listening material as well, for your perusing pleasure:
Raekwon – 10 Bricks (prod. J Dilla)
The Very Best – Rain Dance (feat. M.I.A.)
More cover-lovin’ after the jump Continue reading
Lemonade... 