It’s taken some doing, but here it is. With 30 tracks across 65 minutes, there should be something here for almost everyone. I hope so anyway.
This’s been an especially good year for music so, obviously, I couldn’t include everything great from 2009. The Slew, Russian Circles, Mamer, Broadcast, The Heavy and Efterklang are just a few that didn’t made it onto the mix, but that’s not to say they didn’t release solid albums this year. Overall, I’d say the mix is a reasonable indicator of what my albums of the year are likely to be.
Well, enough of my yakkin. Whaddya say? Let’s boogie!
The latest release from Kid Koala comes in collaboration with Dylan Frombach (Dynomite D). The result of a four-year project that fries chunky blues guitar riffs in a batter of turntablism, 100% is as adventurous an album that an everyday hip-hopper could wish to hear. Much like DJ Shadow’s classic ‘Entroducing’, 100% is constructed entirely of samples, with the primary difference being that Kid Koala laboriously cut each sample to vinyl himself. Being equipped with that knowledge means ‘100%’ is capable of making a bigger impression than without.
With solid, good-humoured grooves and licks throughout, The Slew’s debut album doesn’t necessarily require an appreciation of fine production techniques and deck wizardry. Even though ‘ Robbing Banks’, for example, is driven by an Angus Young style riff motif – and Kid Koala utilises the musical ability exhibited on early classics like Drunk Trumpet in order to manipulate a guitar lick into something akin to a solo – the track still throbs with a funky enough break to keep heads nodding.
Grabbing vocal acapellas is, of course, nothing new. Perhaps it’s Moby who’s best known for putting the blues vocals from the 1920’s Alan Lomax recordings to best effect resulting in hit-after-hit on advert after advert. Although The Slew are unlikely to get anywhere near that mainstream success, 100% is likely to stand as an untouchable underground project, revered and bootlegged alongside records like DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist’s Brainfreeze. Perhaps the best thing about 100% is that it’s, er, completely free: free and downloadable from Kid Koala’s blog.
For those of you who that prefer the feel of cold, hard 5” of polycarbonate or 12” of thick, black vinyl, you’ll have to go out and catch the band on tour in early 2010. With ex-Wolfmother duo Chris Ross (bass) and Myles Heskett (drums) officially part of The Slew, don’t be expecting anything less than an inspiring performance. So there you have it: a free, downloadable album of quality, artistic integrity and love. They don’t make ‘em like this very often…
The very fact that this is the second Brother Ali record released this year says something about this particular rapper’s dedication. With the odds stacked against him (he’s a traditional Sunni Muslim trying to break America), Ali looks and says nothing expected of a ‘typical’ MTV rap star. “I’m the luckiest son-of-a-bitch that ever lived,” he says on the bombastic ‘Fresh Air’, and to instantly sum up the reason for all his labour: “I spend life doing shit I love!”
Signed to Minneapolis’ chic hip-hop label, Rhymesayers, Ali has thrown a good deal of soul into ‘Us’, his fourth full length album. As with previous recordings, production duties are gainfully handled by Atmosphere’s Ant, ensuring a bountiful hour of buoyant beatery filled with stabbing horns and whirling organs amongst a myriad of other live instruments.
Album introduction ‘Brothers And Sisters’ opens with hip-hop legend Chuck D asking an anonymous audience to welcome Ali. Having described him as a “Soldier of love who carries with him a message of true hope and true peace,” ‘The Preacher’ launches into his humble philosophy and vision of the world with great determination and veracity. With an unshakable belief and lyrical talents to match, this should be Ali’s defining moment – his opening number. And, yet, with the timbre of Ali’s voice best suited to Ant’s mid-tempo, thudding, funk numbers – the energy comes across misguided, falling hopelessly flat.
2007′s ‘The Undisputed Truth’ was delivered with fire throughout, but the Ali on ‘Us’ is simply no longer that angry. ‘The Undisputed Truth’ Ali was (according to the inlay sheet that accompanies ‘Us’) “Young, divorced, single dad, homeless,” and though he may still be able to spit verses better than a million other MCs, he’s now a recently happily remarried man with a baby daughter. In this drastically different psychological position, his observations naturally emanate from a more peaceful realm. It’s not that the hunger has died, but comparing the tone of ‘Daylight’ from ‘The Undisputed Truth’ to ‘Games’ on ‘Us’, though similar, there is less of that unflinching attitude exhibited across the whole of ‘Us’.
Like Chuck D, Brother Ali is in danger of becoming the elder statesman of hip-hop before having made the impact necessary to hold that title. Ali has set his sights high and is steadily working his way towards it, gripping the underdog’s rope tighter as he climbs. But, still, the breakthrough eludes him and ‘Us’ will, sadly, not see Ali – a gifted, conscious rapper – overground.
Despite all that, this is another solid album from the young Minnesotan with a lot to say. By tackling prostitution, slavery and homophobia, Ali will eventually grab the public to share his truth. For as long as he carries that desire – he’ll always be worth listening to.
It’s a brave and frequently stupid move to release two discs as a ‘debut’, but Glasgow’s Pablo (aka Michael Hunter) has been around long enough to know what he’s doing. Not only have his sounds terrorised players of Grand Theft Auto IV, they have also graced the murderous CSI series. Disc one of ‘Turntable Technology’ sports a full album of sampled, cut-up mayhem whilst disc two harbours, er, instrumental versions of disc one and a few leisurely, string-driven bonus tracks.
The strange thing is that, though disc one is jam-packed with the kind of music not dissimilar to a polished, prolonged version of Jurassic 5’s ‘Lesson 6: The Lecture’, the record lacks feeling. Flip to the stripped back version of disc two, however, and a whole new side to the tracks becomes apparent. When vocal snippets aren’t battling for attention over layered noise, Hunter’s base proves more satisfying. For example, though ‘The Story Of Sampling’ is an excellent demonstration of the capabilities of sampling technology, the backing alone is more than enough to hold and affect a listener’s attention.
Similarly, both ‘Music Maestro’, ‘Turn The Page’ and ‘Turntable Technology’ gain in stature without the added, cloying snippets. As if that wasn’t enough, disc two also offers up plenty of mood-laden bonuses. Coming from a man employed for his cinematic orchestration, these are the most rewarding moments. Buy this album, and ignore disc one.
Releases this year from the likes of Kyza, Juice Aleem and even Speech Debelle demonstrate that UK hip-hop is alive and well. Skuff and Inja (who have been together for 10 years now as part of Cambridge crew, Delegates of Culture), continue to dazzle with taut verbal delivery and lyrical content.
Like any good hip-hop, ‘The Skuff And Inja Show’ carries with it a solid social conscience. Where Juice Aleem’s philosophy seems to stem from a nascent sense of imagination, Skuff and Inja like to deal in everyday observation. ‘United Kingdom’ for example is a four-minute address about the state of the nation: “I’m not talking about the Government, I represent the scum and the underage mothers in the U.K.” states the strangely languid Skuff whose delivery makes for an unusual juxtaposition against Inja’s prolonged machinegun flows.
Familial UK Brit-hop squad Taskforce appear on ‘Famslam’ with former Scratch Pervert, Mr Thing, cropping up on ‘Witness’. Though ‘The Skuff And Inja Show’ makes for a good 40-minute showcase of the MCs’ skills, the quality of production is not a consistent enough fit. Nevertheless, Skuff and Inja’s styles slot perfectly into the two dubstep remixes on offer here (‘Side Effects’ and ‘Hat Low’).
Sometimes, it’s important to know when you’ve failed; to acknowledge that no single person can dampen the inevitable tide of public opinion alone. When it comes to the ’80s revival, such is the situation. Not only are the fey, indie boys and girls suiting up in the most outrageous fashion clashes, they’re regurgitating the narcissistic thoughts that plagued the decade in a less interesting manner. And as for electronica, the genre is ramping up the stakes by creating lurid landscapes that parody the most kitsch elements of that cocaine-flecked, paranoid period.
Well, at least that’s what Warp signing, Hudson Mohawke, has done on his debut outing for the eclectic label. Watching the youthful exuberance the 15-year-old HudMo displayed on two turntables as UK DMC Finalist, DJ Itchy, it’s possible to see his affinity for combining the quirkier elements of the genre, even though he mashes them into a somewhat confused set.
Nevertheless, should anyone have a true understanding of hip-hop, it’s the turntablist: cutting and looping beats for MCs was all in the game for the traditional DJ, but turntablists took the art to the next level, deconstructing sampled beats with flair and dynamic incredulity.
That’s not to say every DJ a good beatmaker makes, but it does give credence to the argument that Butter is a temporally schizoid listen. Where fellow Warpee, Bibio, battles to include vintage sounds from the ’60s and ’70s, HudMo is happiest when re-imagining the classic ’80s sounds that, no doubt, influenced his hip-hop education.
Utterly committed to the groove which is fundamental to the longevity of a hip-hop track, it’s fair to say that HudMo has woven elements of legendary hip-hop producer Dilla into Butter’s tapestry. To single out tracks that demonstrate this point is facile; rather like picking a ship out of the armada that’s bearing down on a dinghy in the middle of the Atlantic.
Some listeners may be looking for big, commercial tracks on Butter. Well, there are a handful of those: ‘Joy Fantastic’, ‘Rising 5′, ‘FUSE’ and even Damfunk, man of the moment, gets a look-in on the futuristic Rn’B smash ‘Tell Me What You Want From Me’. But it’s on the less accessible numbers where the greatest rewards are found. When HudMo expels the geeky energy spent on beat-juggling to production, as he does on the cut-up ‘Fruit Touch’, ‘Allhot’ or ’3.30′, the results are frequently impressive, prospectively hinting at one of HudMo’s signature flourishes.
Albeit of a different era, the re-pitching of vocals (from 33rpm to 45rpm) that hip-hop embraced earlier this decade (Hi, M.O.P.) is another of the album’s acknowledgements to the genre that shapes its sound. Unlike FlyLo, HudMo has completely bypassed the entire recorded output of ’90s hip-hop, and applied the production techniques of the 2000s to the sounds of the ’80s and come up smelling like Axel Foley on assignment at a dairy yard.
Butter is, of course, one of the most essential releases of 2009; another record that puts the UK at the forefront of electronica. It demonstrates an intuition for the art it so successfully emulates that it’s almost OK to see the kids in those ridiculous dayglo outfits. Almost.
It’s Jay-Z! Does anyone really think that he will ever release anything truly awful? Not now that Jay-Z is no longer a man. By selling more than just a few million CDs during his career, he has catapulted himself into the stratosphere of rap, overseeing a multi-million dollar empire whilst laying claim to be a small part of the reason Obama is now President. If you thought Kanye West could talk a boastful game, you’ve obviously never heard ‘The Blueprint 3′.
Packed to the gills with sassy beats and glossy production, the inevitable superstar collaboraters include Alicia Keys, Kanye West, Kid Cudi etc. In fact, of the 14 songs, the rapper only makes four solo appearances. But, really, none of this matters, simply because this is Jay-Z we’re talking about! Fans are going to buy the album because they’re the fans and that’s what fans do, whilst everyone else judges the album’s merits after hearing lead single ‘Run this town’. And what of it? Well, it’s not a terrible song: it’s cheesy, it’s got a massive video to back it – it’s plain, mainstream rap with a vocal hook that can easily double as a ringtone.
Everything on BP3 is generic: there is little progressive, philosophical, or particularly interesting to be found anywhere. Much like the cover, it’s a mostly colourless affair, toploaded to grab the listener’s attention and tailing off in the final third. Perhaps if the album had ended at the very American ‘Already Home’, The Blueprint 3 may not have been such a divisive blip in the megastar’s career. But,sadly, it doesn’t end there and neither, one suspects, does Jay-Z’s career.
Let’s get something straight: a heart beats with muscular contraction, and a drum must be beaten in order to sound. So to say that your heart beats like a drum is absurd, as well as just plain old wrong. Imagine if your heart sounded like a snare drum. That’d be rubbish. Especially on a treadmill at the gym. If each heart were a different drum sound, the world’s populace could walk around this cacophonous planet where human beings made music; a bit like one giant flashmobbing ad for a thirsty mobile phone company.
Upon hearing the title track of Nathaniel Pearn’s second album for uber-hip Brighton-based label Tru Thoughts, the insipid line “My heart beats like a drum, the drum is like my heart,” got stuck in my throat as I gagged on its amateurish, rambling incoherency. Unfortunately, things get worse as Pearn and co-vocalist Elodie Rama bang on about giving us soul as the drum runs through their veins. Pardon me, while I vomit upon your unborn children.
That said, Pearn graciously supplies a mere three opportunities to hang himself, and it’s on the entirely dreadful ‘Every Day’ dedicated to “All the makers, the beat-breakers, the risk-takers, the soul shakers,” along with “All the people who keep it tight, keep it right and keep it moving along,” where the noose squeezes most of the life out of the record. Sorry, but is this 1989? The lyric sounds like something from a Right Said Fred record, but delivered with less bald charm.
Back in the real world, and Pearn’s remaining instrumental tracks are, thankfully, a mix of inoffensive, downbeat melodies that rely on a workable combination of sweeping basslines, atmospheric twinkles and pleasing horn arrangements. Allowing himself to get swept up with nostalgic memories of jazzy boom-bap hip-hop, ‘My Heart Beats Like A Drum’ becomes an enjoyable Sunday afternoon record, particularly when Pearn bans himself from the vocal booth and delivers grouped three-part female harmonies at will, and just allows the music to do the talking. Like a drum.
