motel de moka

Having lived my entire life on the east coast of the U.S. and briefly in Europe, the concept of California and the west coast was always an imagined, distant place for me. Eventually I’d like to make it out there, maybe spend a few years in San Francisco, experience some of that laid back attitude you hear so much about.

Anyway, these artists and songs, all from the Golden state, represent collectively the California consciousness. For me, as an outsider to this culture, it gives me an idea of the range and energy inherent in all the different genres of music that emanate from Cali. I can’t include some of the more popular choices such as Dr. Dre, Snoop, Sublime, and the Chili Peppers, but I’m sure you’ll recognize a couple of these artists. Enjoy and chillllllllllll…..

P.S. Gotta give props to the Mamas & the Papas too…bunch of characters, those guys.

Souls of Mischief- Let ‘em Know
on 93 ‘Til Infinity (1993, Jive)
Murs- Brotherly Love
on The End of the Beginning (2003, Def Jux)
Madlib- Sickfit
on Madvillainy (2004, Stones Throw Records)
Ugly Duckling- Rio De Janeiro
on Taste the Secret (2003, Emperor Norton Records)
The Nonce- Mix Tapes
on World Ultimate (1995, American Recordings)
Long Beach Dub All Stars ft. Barrington Levy - Saw Red
on Right Back (1999, Dreamworks Records)
The Crystal Method- Wild, Sweet and Cool
on Tweekend (2001, Outpost)

Image: Brandon Cayaban

I like finding that amount of drama that goes into the mix. It doesn’t go necessarily into how I compose it; it goes into how I mix it. So the process is more what comes in that final two-track stereo mix than in how I edit it together. So like with the Delia and Gavin thing, the drama is in the filter changes and the resonance changes, it just kind of goes like you’re going up in a roller coaster, and then you get to that point and you go down and it’s like that big Moog sound kind of impacts, like, bam! You’re doing down. And then you build up again where you’re getting even higher. And when the strings hit, it’s like, “I didn’t realize that strings were even going to come into this shit, I thought it was just going to be an acid track!” Then when the improvised piano, it’s just like, “Holy shit, it just came out of nowhere!” And I like that, that I fed all the elements, you’re kind of spoon-feeding it. But it’s still enough energy that it’s really taking the interest level higher and potentially, I would hope that it would inspire goosebumps. [Laughs] - Carl Craig interview

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” Various Hip-Hop mix ”

01. Sir Shina Peters - Yabis (wiki)
Nigeria 70: Lagos Jump (Strut Records, 2008)
02. Pedestrian - The Toss & Turn (web)
Volume One: unIndian songs (Anticon, 2005)
03. Ratatat - Mirando
LP3 (2008)
04. Sir Shina Peters - Yabis
Nigeria 70: Lagos Jump (Strut Records, 2008)
05. Zion I - Silly Puddy (Remix) (web)
Family Business, Mixed CD (Live up Record, 2004)
06. Afu-Ra - Sucka Free (web)
State Of The Arts (Decon Records, 2005)
07. Aceyalone - Moonlit Skies
Lightning Strikes (Decon Records, 2008)

note: I have this random hypothesis that hip-hop is the answer of late jazz turning rapidly abstract and soul becoming too commercialized and formulaic. So we have all the mix of popular dance and swing from jazz, and lyricism from soul but not the larger structure. Instead of expression in pure musical idea, we have endless stuff of ‘catchy loop’ mix with MC. It’s cheating modern idea of self contained ‘new’ art work. If it were painting, it’s somewhere between pop-art or those fake Gucci T-shirt down at Canal st. People just wanna have straight up fun. Is it so wrong?

see also: Betterpropaganda
image: His Noodly Appendage

Chilling out on the beach this hot, sunny 4th of July weekend, I took some time to reflect on some of the pioneers of hip hop, even though I wasn’t really around to listen to them at the time. Now I know I’ve left out a few notables such as Grandmaster Flash, Grand Wizard Theodore, etc., but these tracks and artists help remind me how great hip hop was at its humble beginnings.

About a few of the tracks-

“Everyday People” is a classic American song of equality and working class people, and along with other funk acts of the time period, was instrumental in setting the stage for hip hop in the 80s and 90s.

“The Bridge Is Over” is the one of the first diss songs, off of one of the very first gangsta rap albums, Criminal Minded. This kicked it all off for Biggie, 2Pac, and Jay-Z in the 90s.

Public Enemy, Eric B. and Rakim, and EPMD all speak for themselves as defiant, rebellious hip hop acts of the 80s. Each respective album is an absolute classic.

The Beastie Boys album “Paul’s Boutique” would be illegal nowadays, as the prescence of over a hundred unlicensed samples was revolutionary and, well, prohibited. Note Bernard Hermann’s Psycho shower theme in the chorus to “Egg Man”.

The last 3 tracks include Dr. Dre and the D.O.C., who released this album and never rapped again due to a car accident that severed his vocal chords, and Nas’s debut on Main Source’s “Live at the Barbecue”. Thought it was fitting for July 4th weekend. Finally, Immortal Technique, leading the charge against the media in “The 4th Branch”.

I apologize for the long article, enjoy your weekend and incorporate some hip hop into it at some point…

Sly & the Family Stone- Everyday People
Stand! (1969)
Boogie Down Productions- The Bridge is Over
Criminal Minded (B-Boy Records, 1986)
Public Enemy- Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos
It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (Def Jam, 1988)
Eric B. and Rakim- Follow the Leader
Follow the Leader (1988)
EPMD- You’re a Customer
Strictly Business (Sleeping Bag Records, 1988)
Beastie Boys- Egg Man
Paul’s Boutique (1989)
The D.O.C.- Lend Me an Ear
No One Can Do It Better (Ruthless Records, 1989)
Main Source- Live at the Barbecue
Breaking Atoms (Wild Pitch Records, 1991)
Immortal Technique- The 4th Branch
Revolutionary Vol. 2 (Viper Records, 2003)

Image: americanhustle

“Money is cool, I’m only human
But they use it as a tool to make the workers feel excluded
Like the shinier the jewel the more exclusive the troop is
Bullets don’t take bribes stupid, they shoot shit”

-Aesop Rock

It’s really too bad popular hip hop is filled with people like Lil Wayne, Soulja Boy, Flo Rida, and G-Unit. If only people would wake up and see how much more talented and interesting some of this underground hip hop is, the world might be just that much more intelligent.

Wish it was still the 90’s….at least the 2000s have given us these guys:

Aesop Rock- 39 Thieves
None Shall Pass ( Definitive Jux, 2007)
Brother Ali- Nine Double’Em
Rites of Passage (Rhymesayers Entertainment, 2000)
El-P ft. Mars Volta- Tasmanian Pain Coaster
I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead (Definitive Jux, 2007)
Shinsight Trio- Early Dayz Amazement
Shallow Nights Blurry Moon (Bad News Records, 2006)
Cannibal Ox- Pigeon
The Cold Vein (Definitive Jux, 2001)
Viktor Vaughn aka MF Doom- Vaudeville Villian
Vaudeville Villian (Sound-Ink, 2003)

Image: Lynt

Any serious discussion of East Coast hip hop and rap music must begin with reference to the legendary DJ Premier. Preemo, as he was affectionately known by the various emcees he worked with throughout his career, revolutionized the hip hop beat with his simplistic use of a punchy two bar breakbeat. His greatest contribution, however, may have been in the incorporation of vocal scratching into the rap producer’s arsenal.

His wide-ranging choice of samples also being a point of interest, it is mainly the perfecting of the scratch technique, that crazy wiki wiki sound, that has cemented DJ Premier’s legacy as one of the greatest of all time. He introduced the scratch to rap songs as a rock guitarist would perform a solo, and in doing so, completely changed the genre forever.

This is a small sampling of his work, if you are interested and want to listen to more, I suggest using his extensive discography on wikipedia to hunt down his beats. You may already have a few of them and not even know it, as he produced for Nas on Illmatic, Notorious B.I.G. on Ready To Die, and Jay-Z on Reasonable Doubt, in addition to Gang Starr’s entire catalog.

Sorry to ramble, but I can’t say enough about this guy. One of the best that ever touched a turntable.

Jeru the Damaja- Not the Average
on Wrath of the Math (1996/UMG Recordings)
Lord Finesse & DJ Mike Smooth- Slave to my Soundwave
on Funky Technician (1990/Wild Pitch Records)
Gang Starr- Precisely the Right Rhyme
on Step In The Arena (1991/Chrysalis Records)
Jeru the Damaja- Come Clean
on The Sun Rises in the East (1994/Polygram Records)
KRS-One- Mortal Thought
on The Return of the Boom Bap (1993/Jive Records)
Freddie Foxxx- R.N.S.
on Industry Shakedown (2000/Landspeed Records)
Buckshot LeFonque- Some Shit @ 78 BPM (The Scratch Opera)
on Buckshot LeFonque (1994)
Mos Def- Mathematics
on Black on Both Sides (1999/Rawkus Records)

“It’s what you all been waitin’ for ain’t it? They can’t stand it, they want something new. So let’s get re-acquainted.”

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Mid-Air Tape Loop Dance Party
(Tape Loop EP/ 2008)
Prefuse 73 Pagina Dos
(Prefuse 73 Reads the Books E.P./ 2005)
Mid-Air Complex Admittance
(Mid-Air/ 2007)
RJD2 Chicken-Bone Circuit
(Dead Ringer/ 2002)
Mid-Air Mirror Mirror
(Mid-Air/ 2007)
Daedelus Pursed Lips Reply
(Invention/ 2002)
Mid-Air A Thousand Atomic Fireballs
(Unreleased)

Note(s): So there’s been some feigning for new, fresh tracks. Jungle is a tough MdM beat to make work, but with enough tenacity the rewards outweigh the struggle. Mid-Air takes jungle back to the roots and doesn’t let the “electronic” aspect of the genre overshadow the organic foundational focus of the sub-genre. Chris Harbach’s contribution to the greater jungle is a product that finds its roots in an urban experimental sound, works its way up through a solid trunk of jazz/hip-hop/funk, and branches off touching upon ambient, acid, trip-hop, and “electronica”, the fruits of which are best savored chilled and — even in the midst of the gritty and grainy samples — fresh. Essentially, as one put it, Mid-Air is “Too fast, too slow, too noisy, too melodic, too old skool, and way too ahead of his time,” (in all the right ways); that, as always, is for you to decide. So, intertwined with the linchpin artist’s works are a few third-party complementary sounds to guide you through the sonic landscape. Enjoi.

Photo Credit: Eugenio Recuenco
Mid-Air: MySpace, Official Site

- My attraction was hard to explain—she was so artistically driven, so demure and yet so bold, and those swimming eyes! I was lost in soul-to-soul contact. I checked her out of the library again and again, but when the summer came I found I needed her more than ever. I had to take her home with me. Anaïs. I bought all her diaries—the boxed set—a huge investment. By the time I went back to college in the fall and moved into a beautiful old half-wrecked farmhouse off campus, I was soaked in the oils of my own manufactured delirium. - Louise Erdrich, The Reptile Garden

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” Paris Dance 2008 ”

01. Stars - This Charming Man
Unmixed, Unmastered, Unsequenced (1999)
02. Marvin Gaye - Sexual Healing (Dj Doc Rok Bmore Remix) (myspace)
(net release, 2008)
03. The Ting Tings - That’s Not My Name
We Started Nothing (2008)
04. Miss Soller - La belle et le bad boy
(anybody know where this come from?)
05. Amy Winehouse - Rehab (Hot Chip Remix)
Rehab (Hot Chip Remix) - Single (2008)
06. Radio 4 - Dance To The Underground
Dance To The Underground EP (Gern Blandsten, 2001)
07. Skindive - Tranquilizer
Skindive (Palm Pictures, 2001)
08. Mark Ronson Feat Lily Allen - Oh My God (Chris Lake Remix)
Version (2007)
09. Sébastien Tellier - Divine (Danger Remix)
Sexuality (Record Makers, 2008)

note: This is really a simple summer hip-hop. Mostly euro mix I found in french blog. (hence french edition) What is it with parisians and electro? Whatever it is, this one is a mellow summer beat. I think it’s passable and fun.

PS. The server issue is not quite resolved. We need to save bandwidth guys. quit clicking the “stream button” a million times. download it just once. Also use the RSS feed.

see also: Italian edition.
image: Squint october 2007, Alexandra Carr.