on mondays, records come in threes!

a trip to the record store resulted in $14 worth of vinyl and cardboard. Take a look.

camp lo - lumdi (12")

twelve inch means single in the vinyl world. so this record by camp lo only has just one song on it: LUMDI and it's a fresh one! as far as i can tell, this track isn't from an upcoming album. it's just a hot little jam, reminiscent of the jolly goodness and ragtime appeal that made the duo's epitimous creation LUCHINI such a standout success. I've been looking for this record for over a year.

isan - plans drawn with pencil (lp)

a simple and effective album of soft and melodic idm for fans of that flavor of boredom. i laid on the floor after a great burger and stout and listened to the a side of this record, opening my eye's only to aim the lighter. In a nut shell, I spin records for a podcast that specializes in neck breakage, and this record is far too beautiful to show up on one of those adventures.

take - earthtones & concrete (2xLP)

2xLP means i have to get up three times to listen to this whole album once. I have done so with pleasure for this LA producer's first full length vinyl release, and you will definitely find me playing tracks in upcoming podcasts. it's got the wobbly bass and the studder step rhythms which you would come to expect from a member of the poobahs ten-inch series, but take, unlike his l.a. contemporaries, has a mastery of that prefuse 73 start-stop production technique, and instead of heavily layering reverb rich tones, this album drops sounds like gestures, a picture book of contemporary electronic music. this record is a great buy for fans of amon tobins earlier work, or for those seeking that zero seven meets flying lotus thing.

what we learned from "In Rainbows"

The new massive attack album is available for pre-sale. The vinly edition costs £ 30.00!! that's over fifty dollars for us americans. You can pre-order 'Heligoland' at thevinylfactory.com where you can also buy ridiculously expensive records by air, monkey, xx and hot chip to name a few.

taking a page from Radiohead, Massive Attack as decided to only offer this one vinyl edition. No $12.99 100gram disc in traditional jacket, and why? because vinyl enthusiasts are much more into the hobby of collecting than mp3 hoarders. It's not only important for us to have a physical copy, but we specifically want that limited edition collectible - 180gram - foil printed - gate fold, with an additional 12" and free download... (whether we can afford it or not.)

and that's the problem, sometimes we cant. $50 bones is whole lotta paper to be dropping on a brand new record. And it's a little frustrating they don't have a more afordable vinyl option. After all a good record player only costs $100. To put things in pespective, letting go of fifty bones for a record is sort of like spending $5,000 to fill up your car, but it comes with a free car wash.

At least at the end of the day Radiohead did release a simple and affordable copy of 'In Rainbows,' though i had already emptied the coffers for the limited edition version which is stored (entombed in plastic) and rarely, if ever, sees the light of day. I like special editions, but i also like dj'ing and podcasting. Do you think i'm going to bring a fifty dollar record to the club? Hell no! And yet, i hardley ever spin cds, and i never spin mp3's, so basically, while Massive Attack has offered a beautiful and collectible presentation of their latest sonic offerings, they have done so at a price point which will cause it's exclusion from my set, which (podcast and dj sets combined) prevents a couple thousand people a month from hearing the music.

here's my suggestion, if you are going to sell me a fifty dollar record for my collection, can you include a cheappy disc i can play out, with out fear of capitol losses?

5Sign podCAST001

forty minutes of beats and live music.

To preview our chinatown beatdown we caught up with FONIKS at his home studio in Eagle Rock, just down the street from 50/50 grind. We recorded Foniks doing what he does best; dropping super tight productions live on the MPC 2000xl.

showcasing the music of:

little people - foniks - luke vibert - dorian concept - abstract butta fingers - gonjasufi - nsok - projecto 2501 - 5signs - prefuse 73

quest aperance by spel

download and share.

Massive Attack "Splitting The Atom" EP

I was listening to the morning music program of a prominent Los Angeles college radio station. Being a fan of Tv on The Radio I was very surprised to hear Tunde Adebimpe's vocals on a very Bristol sounding trip hop track. When the DJ came on air and announced the music was the latest from Massive Attack, I ran to my dell laptop and searched deep with great hope for a vinyl release. There was internet buzz that a physical copy was being manufactured, but no one could find the actual product page. Utilizing highly developed Google skills I uncovered the illusive link, not even accesible from the vinyl factories homepage. It was on this page I first read the track listing: a dream line up the likes of which 'Them Crooked Vultures' could only hope to aspire, a who's who of contemporary musicians, and several of my personal favorites.

Track one with Damon Albarn (blur, gorrillas) Track two with the a-for-mentioned 'Tunde Adebimpe' of Tv On The Radio fame. Track three remixed by non-other-than 'The Subliminal Kid', no longer a kid, but very much a stalwart of the downtempo scene, and Track five, unbelievably, with the marvelous 'Martina Topley-Bird' (the female voice from most of Trickys notable work, with an awesome solo album of her own.)

I had my credit card out so fast you'd think it was the last record in the world, and if I had only one album to listen to on judgment day, this might be it…

For those of us who consider the acts' 1998 mercury prize nominated, #1, platinum selling album the height of Massive Attacks artistry, this four Track EP is their most satisfying release to date. It is the slow and simple effectiveness that hypnotized us in 1998, the laid back, low mixed vocals that balance music and prose is such tandem that every note, every word, hangs on the ear, dripping slowly into the brain, with bass and polyrhythms so delicately layered it would take a microscope to discern their individuality.

In my educated opinion: Splitting the Atom sits proudly next to Mezzanine as Massive attacks finest releases. It is the second most expensive record I have ever bought, a sort of pathetic $11(US) per track, but buyers remorse was hardly an issue. already copies of this record are being auctioned off in the hundreds, that, and knowing Only 999 fans share with me the fine distinction of owning this rare and wonderful record, Vinyl well bought.

been so long since i bought records. these are the three i want the mostest.

flying lotus 3x3 the fourth record in the series, i have the other three. limited edition, this record comes out august 17th, so i will get two checks before its released. link...

metric, remember when we got angry and i went for a bike ride and missed thier tv performance. this is thier second record, i have the first i love it dearly link,,,

prefuse 73, the king of the instrumental hip hop world. i have almost every relase by this guy, and this is his latest. recorded to tape, so it should have that nice warm fuzzy feel. link...

that's 50 bucks for just three pieces of music. three great peices of music all of which already have a spot in my collection.

releases in the works.

"green girls" by dierubix

this is an album i wrote the first half of 2006. i consider it instrumental hip hop. blackbird appears on two tracks. the addition of his vocals to pre-existing material was the last step in recording and was completed sometime during the following summer and fall. "green girls" will be released on cd by the anodyne electric company

for the most part the melodies are inspired by rock music, and the rhythms are my take on electronic music, specifically idm and drum and bass. i believe the sound of this album is the true voice of dierubix. it has progressed much in the five years since my first ep: "music is math" and while my style is constantly evolving, "green girls" represents a finite and specific version. in a word my first two ep's were stepping stones to this album, the first masterpiece by a particular aspect of my creative being. i do not believe i can convey the voice of dierubix to any higher degree of accuracy, but i look forward to one day returning to this emotionally heavy style.

i designed the artwork under the alias 'zero factory'

tracklisting:

1.intro
2.green girls (summertimin’)
featuring blackbird
3.passenger seat
4.lets be wild for a while
5.you are a sliding door
6.untitled (Bbd)
7.green girls (tennesse ticket)
8.here comes the bomb
featuring blackbird
9.soul for sale (kyle kyte theme song)
10.now is the time of your life

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"(untitled)" by five signs

five signs is a collective of left field hip hop producers living in and around hollywood california. the artists include: fonik, soulstep soundsystem, accrete, abstract butta fingas, and alcendor. this will be a 12" vinyl release on the anodyne electric company.

this is a cooperative compilation featuring two tracks from each artist. my contributions are 'music machine' and 'drumalong,' two tracks i wrote early on under the 'soulstep soundsytem' moniker. One difficulty i had in choosing music for this compilation was that i did not wish to repeat any songs from the forth coming soulstep album (see below.) 'drumalong' does not contain the same political or social motivation intended for "make your own good" but fits with the sound and style of soulstep. 'music machine' is perhaps a song i would have liked to save for my album, but it was specifically requested by some of the other five signs producers.

additional roles:
abstract butta fingers: p.r.
foniks: design
accrete: packaging
alcendor: mixing
kyle kyte : executive producer

track listing to be determined...


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"make your own god" by soulstep soundsystem

having completed "green girls" i felt i had entered a new phase in my production. this style is much more hip hop inspired than any of the dierubix material, even though some compositions illustrate the transition more than others.

the goal of this release is to create a body of work that accurately conveys my political and artistic positions. not just songs that sound good, or tracks that make you dance, "make your own god" is a series of statements.

"make your own god" is still being composed and recorded. this album will be released on a yet to be decided format by the anodyne electric company.

track listing to be determined..


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"(untitled)" by dream tv

a couple years ago dream tv was born from jams with jeff (who plays guitar and bass with rock influence, and experience.) when jordan joined the band we decided to get serious, write songs, play shows ect. unfortuantly jordan moved to san fransisco, and dream tv took a nap. during recent sessions, however, jeff and i have written some new material, and we are excited to release it.

dream tv is the most rock inspired of my music. keeping with a rock mentality, a 7" release seamed the most appropriate way to share our dub rock creations. this single will be released by the anodyne electric company (of course)

track listing to be determined..

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"(untitled)" by gray world

i have discussed briefly with blackbird the idea of releasing a single on vinyl. gray world is a collection of compositions i wrote over the course of my first two years in l.a. blackbird added vocals which were recorded in my home studio in the summer and fall of 2006, two gray world compositions appear on "green girls," though it is unlikely we would choose either of those songs for this release. we will presumably choose something which i wrote pre-"green girls", when rock was just starting to shade my dance focused production. 'cocain and alcohol' may be the track of choice. we also plan to elicit remixes from other artists to add to the release.

track listing to be determined..
label to be determined..


//fuck capitalization.

i'm not even chinese...

Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House

In 1964 the Disneyland haunted mansion, in the newly completed New Orleans Square, was sitting empty, unoccupied by any of the 999 ghosts. Problems with the story line, and the distraction of designing Walt Disney's groundbreaking attractions for the 1964 New York Worlds Fair, ("It's a Small World" and "The Carousel of Progress") had postponed the completion of the haunted attraction in Anaheim.

Perhaps to remind the public that the haunted mansion would be opening some time in the future, Disneyland Records released "Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House"

link

i came upon my copy as a christmas present from vivian. it was available at amoeba records for $1.00. follow the link to find out more about this album, there's plenty of information on the web. i'm posting this album because it's stupid ripe. from kooky vocals to haunding atmospherics, there's no limit to the samples this fine record has to offer. while cutting samples for a new track i came upon a couple classics luke vibert samples from his seminal "drum and bass for papa."

vibert's song "delicious" features two of the best vocal samples on the record, both on side one. the sample "what am i saying, i'm not even chinese" is found on "Chilling, Thrilling..." at the end of track eight, entitled "chinese water torture." the second sample, "mmm, that was delicious, i wonder what it was..," comes in at the end of the last track "the martian monsters," after some knarly chewing action.

and now, with out links, a couple other references:


plug - drum and bass for papa
how big - mmm, that was delicious, i wonder what it was
various artists - fufu stew for tomorrow

//fuck capitalization.