Aurgasm

Organic, soulful, electronified and good-feeling vibes, freely shared by Colorado producer Derek Vincent Smith. Nearly four hours of this Pretty Lights sound is available for free on his website. It’s a vivid collage of continuity, enriched with robust beats, eloquently laced vocal samples that range from nostalgic to serene, both compelling and entertaining, with a diverse selection of instruments all aimed towards enjoyment.

Look at the picture accompanying this post and imagine how it might sound; that’s likely what you’ll hear in the debut album by Exponential artist Diego Chavez. Recording as Aether for this outlet, Diego somehow invents spare time for graphic design when not producing music as his other alias Otic Angst, with A.M. Architect, or for the hip-hop group Lotus Tribe and rock band The Panic Division. The amount of diversity woven into Artifacts is mesmerizing and breathtaking; clearly the work of a very talented and driven individual. Combining grit with vibrance, molding casual, assured flows of conscious tranquility, while also keeping a dynamic and youthful essence is a lot to consider, let alone craft well and fully deliver. His label says it best when describing this as a lovingly sculpted expression of beauty, love, tragedy, hope, and everything that makes us human.

By bringing together musicians from around the globe and of varying generations, Germany based Maxim Illion & Kitty the Bill’s Club des Belugas brainchild is both contemporary and classic at the same time. On a luscious, beautiful day, Swedish singer Anna.Luca will croon your fancy, before Brenda Boykin’s California energy gets you swinging the night away. Other guests include Iain Mackenzie from London, Dean Bowman from New York, and Fred Astaire, whose “Puttin’ on the Ritz” gets remixed for their latest album, Swop!

Breakdancing and graffiti roots converge with fashionable French writing and visual stimuli to create a contagious blend of soulful, jazzy good rhymes, laden with a hip-hop reverie that’s almost non-existent these days. Irfane Khan-Acito, Jay1 & Jerome Hadey from Strasbourg and Paris fuse an album of everyday messages people tend to share or ignore, but ultimately live through, with a positive, youthful expression.

Los Angeles producer edIT has done his fair share of remixes and edits (natch!), but when Hefty commissioned him to throw together a mix mashing their electronic catalog against some hiphop jams, his production talent had a 40 minute showcase. After 18 months, the man is back with his LP “Certified Air Raid Material”. Collabs with TTC and Busdriver keep the mic burning hot while edIT’s impeccable production delivers. In addition to the track below, “Crunk De Gaulle” and “Battling Go-Go Yubari…” stand out in the 2007 scene, too.

If you’re currently living in the UK and enjoy watching Pizza Hut ads, you’ll have heard Mexican Institute of Sound fairly recently – but it deserves a little more recognition than just as a tool for hawking pizzas. The ‘Institute’, though indeed Mexican, is in fact only one man – Camilo Lara – who cuts and mixes a who’s who of samples into a fun blend of hip hop and cha cha. Pinata is his second album and boasts shades of Esquivel and early De La Soul, though the two tracks here show a definite character of their own.

Funky good times and flavorlicious rhymes from the Afro-beat legend Tony Allen. Hooking up with artists like Damon Albarn, Ty, and Unsung Heroes, Home Cooking delivers a diverse course of intellect, style, and hip-happenin’ vibes to keep any party alive. Whether you’re looking to dance or sit back and feel the groove, it’s all in there.

The duo of Ukrainian guys 5′nizza (pronounced pyatnitsa) experiments with layers of vocals and an acoustic guitar like no-one else. Harmonizing the most unexpected, humming, rappin’ and improvising, they bring a smile to your face. Using human voice they create the best quality break-beat rhythms, instrumentation of drums and trumpets. 5′nizza throws together reggae-like sounds, rock influences, bossa nova melodies, random energetic ska, enjoyable hip hop and the greatest fun from Eastern European underground.

I often wonder what the record label of the future looks like. Artists now can now create, record, promote and distribute their music for little or no cost. Thank you, Internet. Though I’ll admit, record labels have done a phenomenal job at curating similar talent; when you find an artist on Warp, Ninja Tune, or Stones Throw that you like, you can find other nuggets amongst their roster. Merck Records has been the same way, and it sadly closing its doors after years of delivering some amazing IDM and future beats.

I don’t want to be too self-congratulatory, but I have heard that David Byrne reads Aurgasm and Nic Harcourt (of KCRW) frequents mp3 blogs. But it’s really unknown what use mp3 blogs have been, or will be, to the music industry at large. Let’s assume for a moment that producers follow mp3 blogs as much as they crate dig in their search of the next great sample. Follow me down this path, will you…

uk pop ← new orleans jazz
If you didn’t already hear, Lily Allen is ‘the next big thing’. Music geeks have been pushing her, wanting her songs will blow up in the US mainstream for a while. She’s definitely got the appeal potential: crisp and fun production underneath her own gritty urban storytelling. Her track “Knock ‘Em Out” was released as a B-side, but is now getting as much attention as her released singles.
Lily Allen - Knock ‘Em Out from Alright, Still (2006)
If you’ve been with Aurgasm for a while, that opening that forms the basis for the track might sound a little familiar. In December 2004 I shared a track by New Orleans pianist Professor Longhair. Take a listen:
Professor Longhair - Big Chief (1964)

cuban mambo → chicago hip hop

Around the same time, a little more south, a Cuban vocalist by the name of La Lupe was gaining notoriety for her energetic live show and, quite franky, her near-insanity. Before joining Tito Puente’s tour, her fan-base included Pablo Picasso, Jean-Paul Sartre and novelist Ernest Hemingway, who called her act, “the art of frenzy.” Last October, I dubbed her song “Fever” as an mp3 gem in The Link List.
La Lupe - Fever (1961)
Chicago’s Rhymefest is best known for penning Kanye’s Grammy-winning single “Jesus Walks”, but you’ll hear that La Lupe track repurposed in this new single off his LP.
Rhymefest - Fever from Blue Collar (2006)