Filed under: Beats, Chilled, Electronica, Hip-Hop | Tags: Electronica, Flying Lotus, future beat, Hip Hop, instrumental song
There’s something about the crackly-popping sound of an old vinyl record that I really dig, so when Innobushu‘s Moonlight opened with 90 or so seconds of the sound, I already knew I was in for a treat.
However, it’s not the lo-fi vinyl crackle that makes this a neat track, Moonlight‘s instrumentation is a great mix of synth leads and lo-fi jazz/soul samples. The highlight for me would be the syncopated drums which Innobushu pulls off perfectly- odd enough to be interesting, yet still rhythmic enough to bop your head to- this is possibly the greatest challenge when it comes to making future-beat, and in Moonlight it’s really tight.
Soulful and atmospheric, Moonlight is more than just a ‘beat’, it’s an instrumental song. Check it out:
Soundcloud:
http://soundcloud.com/innobushu
Filed under: Beats, Hip-Hop, Vocals | Tags: beats, debut ep, french, french hip hop, german metal, Hip Hop, hip hop artist, hip hop instrumentals, independant, instrumental hip hop, Rammstein, sample based, Trip-Hop
When I was about 13 years old I loved the german industrial-metal band Rammstein. I loved them so much it inspired me to learn German… until I found out I was head-banging along to graphic lyrics about gay sex. This isn’t something I’m against; It was just a little shocking for my 13-year old self. Then I looked at the cover of my favourite album- an image of the band shirtless and oiled up, standing in-front of a giant flower… it was never the same.
I did see Rammstein live many years later and they were amazing… but something about the muscular front-man in make-up, adorned with feathers and tight black leather just haunted the back of my mind… Mann gegen Mann
Meine Haut gehört den Herren…
Now the reason I bring up Rammstein is not because of their deceptively homosexual lyrics, but because I haven’t ever loved a foreign band so much as to want to learn the intricacies of their language since I was 13 and head-banging away to German metal…
This time in French; NÉBULEUSE(s) is an album title I’m not even going to BEGIN to try and pronounce. My French is a bit rusty these days (read: ‘non-existent’), but that didn’t stop me from getting into talented French hip-hop artist Don Da None, who self-released his debut EP Nébuleuse(s) for only €3 in November last year.
Don Da None‘s lyrics flow so well that it makes me wish I could speak French. There’s a sophistication in the way he speaks which compliments the amazing self-produced beats very well. Borrowing samples from rare soul and jazz records, Nébuleuse(s) would work as an instrumental album in it’s own right… In-fact, I have an instrumental copy of Le Bas Coté to give you!
Don Da None – Le Bas Coté (Instrumental)
You should also check out the rest of his debut EP here:
http://dondanone.bandcamp.com/
Filed under: Beats | Tags: beats, Flying Lotus, french, future beat, Hip Hop, sample based, Trip-Hop
The underground trip-hop community may seem like a never-ending sea of sampled beats and bedroom producers. And for the most part, it is! Albeit a glorious one full of unique rhythmic gems. Every now and then, in this new-age of internet distribution, a funny thing happens…
I had just purchased Zerolex‘s 2.z EP (off of bandcamp for only €1!) when no more than an hour later I got an email from Zerolex himself pointing me towards his music. I clicked the links he provided, stared at the album art for awhile thinking “Wow, this looks very familiar” until I realised he was currently playing in my iTunes.
All Over Again is the first of two tracks off of his more recent release on Combien Millie Records, which is available for free download. There’s some great future beat style trip-hop elements present throughout his tracks, and some really diverse and interesting sounds being used as well- check it out!
Download:
Bandcamp:
Soundcloud:
PS:
If you are an artist/label/promoter/enthusiastic fan feel free to drop me a line any time at fucktheradio@dubcage.com I’d love to hear from you!
And make sure you show facebook.com/ftheradioblog some love!
Filed under: Beats, Hip-Hop | Tags: beats, Hip Hop, independant, instrumental hip hop, sample based, Trip-Hop
Mattron‘s personal tape is the best dollar I’ve spent all year.
Wonderfully crafted trip-hop in its abundance, Pants Morgan Money Tape is set to make my iTunes’ ‘top played’ list any-time now… Warm and relaxing, the 14 tracks all sit perfectly in the middle section of the imaginary ‘musically stimulating’ and ‘easy listening’ Venn diagram.
Fans of hip-hop will appreciate the meticulous effort put into crafting these beats out of various samples, ranging from odd-ball synth sounds to contemporary jazz snippets- Mattron makes creating great instrumental hip-hop seem Ea$y.
Download:
Bandcamp (rest of tape only $1):
Soundcloud:
Amable‘s Spooky Bounce is indeed spooky… and bouncy! (the epitome of music journalism right there).
The spookiness is in the subtleties, a sampled piano loop- complete with crisp vinyl pops and crackles- oh the joys of trip-hop!
Meanwhile a grimey saw bassline teams up with an exceptionally neat percussive drum-part to keep the track moving along. It’s as if a ghetto gang of werewolves and zombies (complete with low-riding pants and excessive amounts of dollar-sign gold necklaces) are strutting their stuff down the graveyard main-street at midnight, boom-box on shoulder, blasting this spooky trip-hop tune.
Download:
Soundcloud:
Spektrums is here to pleasure your eardrums. I highly recommend fans of Trip-Hop check out his beats. I’m hooked.
Download:
Soundcloud:
http://soundcloud.com/spektrums/
Filed under: Chilled, Hip-Hop, Jazz | Tags: Akai MPC2000, beats, dj shadow, Hip Hop, mellow, sample based, Trip-Hop
French Trip-Hopper Somepling released his free EP Properly Packed for free on Wednesday and I’ve finally gotten the chance to give it a proper listen through.
Fans of DJ Shadow and other alternative hip-hop beats producers will appreciate the overall soul of Somepling‘s work; the magic that can be created on an Akai MPC2000 is unreal when put into the correct music junkie’s hands. It is no wonder Somepling has garnered support from so many artists and labels.
Properly Packed is a collection of tracks that have been given away for free on his Soundcloud here and there, packed into one neat package. You can give the full album a download off of his Bandcamp page, where the option is to donate a measly $5 or just grab it for free off the provided mediafire link.
Download:
Bandcamp:
Soundcloud:
http://soundcloud.com/somepling
Filed under: Hip-Hop, Jazz | Tags: chile, Hip Hop, hip hop instrumentals, independant, Jazz, music, sample based, Trip-Hop
Ok, after countless hours of Skyrim (I play for the music, I swear) I’m back to posting.
Oudies is from Chile, he produces some groovy hip-hop instrumentals with lots of interesting samples- from recordings of the ocean to old jazz records. I’m really digging his stuff at the moment.
This track Jijopers has one of those cool slap-rattle things which name escapes me at the moment punctuating the broken-beat that jangles along with some simplistically pretty synths. It’s a short one too, so if you are left wanting more- check out his soundcloud or his free album on bandcamp.
Download:
Soundcloud:
Bandcamp:
http://oudiesbeats.bandcamp.com/
Filed under: Electronica, Hip-Hop | Tags: Funky, glitch, Hip Hop, Trip-Hop
UK-based Mute Speaker is putting out some deliciously funky glitchy trip-hop beats. And what’s more is he’s giving a-lot of them away for free!
Check out his Bandcamp for a free album and another ‘pay-as-you-see-fit’ album. His Soundcloud is peppered with quality tracks available for free, and here on Fuck the Radio is More Fire. Get on it.
Download:
Soundcloud:
http://soundcloud.com/mute-speaker
Bandcamp:
http://mute-speaker.bandcamp.com/
Filed under: Electronica, Hip-Hop | Tags: bass, Deep, Electronic, Hip Hop, independant, Trip-Hop
Sick Lebowski is another undiscovered-as-yet producer from The Netherlands.
Disappear Into Your Dreams is a cool fusion of bassy-electronic trip-hop with a clear hip-hop rhythmic influence. Creepy vocals are a must as always with this type of track, and they are pulled off with flawless implementation in this case.
Download:
<someone reported the download link 😦 but the artist is still giving the track away for free at his soundcloud page linked below>
Soundcloud:
http://soundcloud.com/sicklebowski
The Beastie Boys‘ debut hip-hop album License to Ill is my top 3 hip-hop albums of all time. I know this may seem a little out-of place on this blog, but Paul Revere is just too good for people to be missing out on. The whole reverse-beat it has going is fucking great, and the lyrics are entertaining to say the least… a spaghetti-western type story that reads like a play, each Beastie having his own role in the tale, here’s my favorite verse:
MCA:
“Now, I got the gun, you got the brew
You got two choices of what you can do
It’s not a tough decision as you can see
I can blow you away or you can ride with me”
Ad Rock:
“I said,
I’ll ride with you if you can get me to the border
The sheriff’s after me for what I did to his daughter,
I did it like this, I did it like that
I did it with a whiffleball bat”
The Beastie Boys started as a hardcore punk band, but switched to hip-hop around 1983, and in my books, any hip-hop before ’96 earns a green tick. But the ’86 (or was it early ’87?) Paul Revere (much like the rest of License to Ill) is a track that could have been released yesterday and still be fresh. Take a listen and you’ll see what I mean:
Anti-Pop Consortium‘s alternative hip-hop sound is much underrated, especially at a time where artists such as Tyler the Creator and The Neptunes thrive. That said, I’m not making a direct comparison between the groups. Four Tet‘s remix of Volcano is a perfect addition to the Ninja Tune XX label’s catalog, whereas it may look a tad out of place on something like Interscope.
The tune is the prefect balance of lo-fi without sounding messy. The melodic arpeggiated synths remind me of something that you’d hear from Jarre or Vangelis, but that’s probably just me. The rap vocals are tight and flow well over the top, as you can expect from a group as reputable as the Anti-Pop Consortium, who have been doing their thing since the late 90s (not counting a 5-year hiatus from 2002-2007). Check it out:
Anti-Pop Consortium – Volcano (Four Tet Remix)
Filed under: Chilled, Electronica, Hip-Hop, Jazz | Tags: Acid-Jazz, Chilled, Electronica, Hip Hop, Jazz, sample based, Trip-Hop
Signed to Pretty Lights’ own record label, it’s not really a surprise that if you are a fan of the former, Grammatik will suit your tastes perfectly. Chilled trip-hop beats with funky jazz vocal samples spicing things up in Is It Over is something reminiscent of Pretty Lights’ tracks such as Finally Moving or the previously posted Something’s Wrong.
Definatley worth a listen if you love Pretty Lights or are completely new to the style- either way, Grammatik is still great, and you can support him by downloading his album (FOR FREE) off of the Pretty Lights Music Record Label site.
Ofcourse you can try him out first with a download from here 😀
Firstly, I’m sorry to take a week off from blogging, I’ll make it up to you, a post every day this week!
Kicking it off we have Distuition with an interesting style of trip-hop beats, endless re-triggering of samples over a chilled rhythm takes advantage of your brains ‘funk’ cortex, making tracks like Oneder an interesting listen. To me, it’s just begging for some rapping over the top to transform it into the full alternative hip-hop package.
Visit the bandcamp page, there are pick-your-price downloads of all of Distuition‘s works.
http://distuition.bandcamp.com/
And as usual I offer you a download to add to your Fuck the Radio collection.
Filed under: Chilled, Electronica, Hip-Hop | Tags: Electronic, Hip Hop, mellow
Roygbiv is a great way to remember the colours of the rainbow. Roygbiv is a great track from Boards of Canada
