Aurgasm

Rock & Roll // Beats

If the ’50s had sampling, New Zealand export Willy Moon would be a flashback. But at the age of 23, his brash mix of rock & roll’s early days and contemporary sampling turns the clock forward to a bold new charm. Before settling into his new home of London, UK, this autodidact ditched school at 16 and shaped his raw sounds with sojourns in Valencia, Morocco, and Berlin; evolving from hip-hop and club into sonic sledgehammers having sole-blistering effect. Willy’s supercharged collage of well-known samples, combined with his unique retro vocals, makes a fiercely catchy package, and his visual style looks equally well mastered in a slick ‘Rat Pack’ refined naughtiness.

Smokin’ hot throwback beat explosions.Willy Moon – I Wanna Be Your Man
Willy Moon – Railroad Track
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electronic // post r&b

Designs similar to Atupele’s Pictures on Silence have intrigued me, but there is a quality in this 20 y/o’s Michigan Malawi purpose that lava lamps me to a greater plane – liquidating my conscious inside an orb of electronic bass and faint promiscuous echo. Slow Koreless to a hibernating burrow then resurrect in soulful bounty.

Heavy beat patterns your mind spotless.
Atu – Let Me
Atu – The Duo ft Sango
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instrumental hip-hop // idm

The music of LA native Sahy Uhns a.k.a. Carl Madison Burgin is a unique blend of West Coast hip-hop, IDM and ambient influenced soundscapes, all topped off with some glitchy beats, organic rhythms and obscure psychedelic beauty. The opening track, a personal favorite, of his recently released album An Intolerant Disdain of Underlings (2011), “Montebello Postpartum”, delivers a dreamy ambient vibe and a gentle midtempo beat. “Anticipation Of The Night, which is named after a 1958 film by Stan Brakhage, showcases Sahy Uhns’ outstanding sound design skills.

Mesmerizing sound collage.
Sahy Uhns – Montebello Postpartum
Sahy Uhns – Anticipation of the Night
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urban eclectic // hip-hop

There’s a surprising gap between MTV mainstream hip-hop and the uber-coolness of what’s actually happening to the music nowadays. Unknown to the mainstream audiences, French-born Chilean MC Ana Tijoux may very well be that elusive next best thing in hip-hop music. Ana’s album 1977 pays tribute to the old-school hip-hop, mixing organic vinyl scratches, urban grooves, jazzy horn samples and Latin sounds. Ana’s voice is velvety and smoky, some times whispery, yet always seamlessly flowing with the the beats. One song standing out is the largely autobiographical title track “1977” with its strong melody, Mexican trumpets, dynamic rhythms and truly excellent production.

Spicy urban beats.
Ana Tijoux – 1977
Ana Tijoux – Sube
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french hip-hop // urban

When it comes to Hip-Hop, at Aurgasm we enjoy the abstract, the instrumental and the funkier side of the genre. Paris based Namasté provides me with that kind of melodic, funky tune I enjoy playing any time of the day. A mixture of urban style beat, soulful saxophone and bass, some neat sampling and an Indie approach would best describe the vibe of Namasté. “L’absurde”, taken from the band’s first EP of the same name, carries mid tempo stylish grooves and catchy French lyrics.

Positive vibes and contagious rhythms.
Namasté – L’absurde

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electronic // hip-hop // downbeat

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.

All about the good vibes.
Pretty Lights – Solamente
Pretty Lights – Maybe Tomorrow
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hip-hop // experimental

Imagine a soundtrack for the picture accompanying this post. Diego Chavez invents spare time for graphic design when not producing music as Aether, his other alias Otic Angst, with A.M. Architect, or for the hip-hop group Lotus Tribe and rock band The Panic Division. The diversity woven into Artifacts is mesmerizing; fusing grit with vibrance and molding casual, assured flows of conscious tranquility while keeping a youthful essence. Exponential describes this as a lovingly sculpted expression of beauty, love, tragedy, hope, and everything that makes us human.

Human elements of abstract hip-hop.
Aether – Orfeu Negro
Aether – Makeshift Sanctuary
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broken beat // future jazz // hip-hop

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.

Dancefloor grooves that inspire and ignite.
Outlines – Just A Lil Lovin
Outlines – Now That I’m Free
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abstract hiphop // blip-hop

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.

Crunchy and gritty hiphop from a squeaky-clean production.
edIT – Artsy Remix (feat. The Grouch)
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latin hip hop // turntablism

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.

Playful and unabashed pastiche.
Mexican Institute of Sound – El Microfono
Mexican Institute of Sound – A Girl Like You
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