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alexarobFiled under: Aural Pleasure, Vidbit | Tags: Bonde Do Role, Brazil, mp3, Radioclit
Bonde Do Rolê have BLOWN UP over this past year. Damn, yo! Got signed to Mad Decent a while ago and haven’t looked back since.
These kids are ridiculous. Hailing from Curitiba, Brazil (look the place up if you don’t know about. One hell of a city.) these fools mash up Baile Funk, straight Miami-Bass, Punk and a little Hippy Hop. Beats like those on Melo do Tobaco and Funk da Esfiha are pure grungy Baile beats (especially Melo). You may think it sounds terrible at first, but trust me, it grows on you.
Crazy energy. Ridiculous lyrics. Lots of fun.
Bonde Do Rolê - Funk da Esfiha
Bonde Do Rolê - Salto o Frango
Stereo Spirit was released June of 2007, but Toure’s sophomore album somehow escaped me until last week. In respect to his first album, Diam, Stereo Spirit feels a little calmer and softer. And, for me, this adds a new tender beauty to his work. I have no idea what he is ever saying and it doesn’t matter. Nor do I have words that will say what his music does, so perk up those lil’ sonic saucers and press ‘play’.
Filed under: Vidbit
Meeting new people is nice.
“You like this? What do you think of that? Tell me about that, I don’t know anything about it. Where you at?”
Compassionately challenging each other – “Why like THAT?”
It’s always amazing to meet people who you just fall in with. And it can be just as interesting to meet people who you simply DON’T fall in with. And instead just bump into each other, dumb-eyed and googly-mouthed.
I met someone recently who talked about the beauty in nostalgia. I had never really put those two words together. But the more I thought about it, the more I felt the connection. Not in the sense of wanting to return to some previous time so much that the present becomes unbearable, but the nostalgia of being able to smile and love quietly to yourself, or with others, some time passed on and being OK with its past tense. That re-connect. That flood of mental imagery, visceral feelings, transforming into the physical, the guffaw or smile or whatever it is. I like that.
And it reminded me of this video/song titled Nostalgia by Masta Ace and produced by Marco Polo.
I love the start of the video with Masta Ace getting his red ‘drank’ (Chapelle, what!), and Marco Polo, the producer/DJ, bringing in the beat, upping the radio.
I feel like a number of Rawkus videos I’ve seen start in with the beat backed out like that, looping around on you until it gets to the front, pulling you in from the shirt collar.
Handclaps, Ace. Handclaps. Yep, I hear that.
Gilberto Gil and Jorge Ben recorded this album in a single night. Totally acoustic, it is a collaboration that is completely inspired by the moment in which it was created. The live improvisations are pure artistic flow, unimpeded by a large band, multi-track recording, or a desire to sell records. I can only say we are really lucky to have a recording of this late-night jam session. But it speaks for itself, so check it out. I posted two tracks, “Taj Mahal” and “Nega”, but buy the album because the rest is just as good. The vocal improvisation/ad-libbing is awesome.
Filed under: Eclectronica, Reeeemix!, Vidbit | Tags: electro-acoustic music, found sounds, Garageband, Mac, ModPlug Tracker, PC
Last term, I took a class in Electro-Acoustic Music Composition and quickly realized that
a) there really is Music Potential in all sonic colorations found in the quotidian chaos/calm of your life
b) it’s BUTT HARD to tap that potential
c) my butt is not that hard.
Given that an increasing amount of our daily existence is spent in front of a glowing screen of 1s and 0s branded with either the Gated primary color box or Jobsian original sin card, it’s not surprising that the dings, rings and pings of our favorite rival operating systems found their way into symphonic reorchestrations. I’m a Mac kid myself, but I think on this melodic battleground, I just might have to grab the Windows seat. Who do you think flipped it better?
Windows XP and 98
Mac OSX
Filed under: Aural Pleasure, Visual Basics | Tags: Lost Art, Os Gemeos, Racionais MCs, Rappin' Hood
Since we tip-toed over São Paulo in the last post, I feel compelled to brush by it again. I’ve only briefly passed through the city and, well, it’s not small. And by that I mean it’s the fourth largest city in the world, hovering somewhere around 11 million people. And while Rio may be associated internationally with Baile Funk, Bossa Nova, Samba and some of their respective musicians – Jobim, Gilberto, Regina, Buarque, Veloso, Gil, Marlboro, Andinho, Tigrona (the list goes on) – there’s equally as much going on in São Paulo.
Hip-Hop is one:
Rappin’ Hood - A Bola Do Mundo
Rappin’ Hood - Sujeito Homem
Racionais MCs - A Vida e Desafio
Os Gemeos (The Twins) are representative of another thriving culture – graf.
There were throw ups and full pieces throughout the city (and elsewhere) and every one made the life in city-life a little warmer. Os Gemeos blew up in the 90’s through the help of 12oz Prophet and have finally put out a book and closed up shop with an exhibit in the Netherlands.
Finally, check out Lost Art - an incredible site visualizing the haps in Brazil. It’s created by a number of people in São Paulo who walk and travel and live and hope and play with/through their cameras. A really amazing site pumpin the meta-art.
São Paulo, you may be big and fat, dirty and all industrial, but damn, you can get down.
Filed under: Vidbit, Visual Basics | Tags: Ads, RocketBoom, São Paulo, Tony de Marco
Boots Riley has a gift.
Like some of the best comedians, some of the most effective speakers, the man can say something real, hold our head to something unjust, but do it in some compassionate/humorous manner so that it doesn’t simply push us away. He’s not attacking us, the listeners, but he does go after parts of the world we create.
It’s call-to-arms lyrics and playful humor riding along swangin funk and danceable boombooms.
It’s Revolution Funk, y’all. But it ain’t no Parliament.
Darondo was a pimp.
No, literally, he was. Or so rumor has it.
But more importantly, he was an incredible singer with a huge range - soulful to funky, refined to raw.
He reached his height of popularity during the 70’s and then fell off the grid. Maybe it was drugs. Maybe women or money or a desire to simply get out of the light. Unknown to me.
First heard Gilles Peterson do a mix using “Didn’t I” and Ubiquity Records recently (kind of) put out a re-issue of sorts of some of his tracks. I don’t have the CD, but this video can suffice. Plus, the person dancing has got moves like a good compadre who can hold his own on the floor (I see you Sawyer!).
One of the most under-recognized players I know of, Mose Allison is all about style. The guy just sounds COOL. He’s a white guy with a mustache, but most people after hearing him think right away that he’s black, myself included. There’s a story that he showed up to a gig after recording his first album in the late 50s and they said, “You’re not Mose Allison, Mose Allison is black!” Anyways, he plays a unique brand of country blues combined with jazz that is super laid-back and perfect for chillin’ on a Sunday, so here’ s a few to groove on.
Mose Allison - The Seventh Son
Mose Allison - I Don’t Worry About a Thing
Mose Allison - I’m the Wild Man
Mose Allison - If You’re Going to the City
Mose Allison- Molecular Structure
Mose Allison - Monsters of the Id
