cubikmusik

i am what i am

Download 01 I Am What I Am (Parts 1 & 2)

marva whitney.
legend!

buy: iTunes, amazon (UK), (US)

things to do, music to hear...

right, started to realize there is a myriad of shows and events that are coming up that i want to get to. hopefully i manage it all but figured i'd put it all together in one post. moreso for me to assess the logistics of it all than anything else. ;)

poets of rhythm "Afro Psyche Funk brothers who have been pushing the musical boundaries for the last 15 years...showcasing their recent release Sahara Swing on Now&Again Records under the pseudonym Karl Hector & The Malcouns" wednesday, may 20th @whelans/ choice cuts event listing

more mess on my thing

buy iTunes, junodownload, juno records  

quantic and b+ "the internationally revered musician and DJ, Quantic, and cutting edge street photographer/film director, B+, will bring the sights and sounds of the Tropics to the South William Bar, Dublin 2 with a spectacular evening of music, film and photography in celebration of ‘Tradition In Transition’" the upcoming album by Quantic and his Combo Bárbaro. " thursday, june 4th @south william/ choice cuts event listing

hypnotic brass ensemble "This is the real deal folks - music the way it was meant to be. From the heart, from the lungs. These guys don’t need to plug in to be heard.

Download Balicky Bon

buy: iTunes

As they say themselves, they could play on a boat in the dark - they’re powered from within." saturday, may 30th/ choice cuts event listing

diplo  major lazer. nuff said! sunday, may 31st @tripod/ (no event listing at tripod)

with thanks to louis louis / Download Pon De Floor-Ernold Sane Remix

motor city drum ensemble "Some stuff said about this release: Karl Injex (Rude Movements / NYC) - 'As implied by the title, these dancefloor weapons are RAW, touching on the essence of Detroit with dirty drums, ruff basslines and that signature hand-cut feel pioneered by the likes of KDJ, Theo Parrish and crew..' . Mad Mats (Raw Fusion / Stockholm) - 'This shit totally blew me away, real Detroit house at its best'" sunday, july 4th @ george bernard shaw/ bodytonic listing

raw cuts 2

buy: juno , bagpak

ayo ayo nene

summer has arrived with this tune.
been raining and overcast the last few days here and between being that and sick wanted to post some summer music tonight but was having trouble something that blew me away to post for you.
then, through the glory of twitter stones throw threw this out and i'm jammin' away to this. goes out to a mate who has arrived home a little early which is a good thing. :)

between mayer hawthorne, dâm-funk, madvillan paper dolls (see below), and whatnot stones throw deliver yet again with this release! 'Spiritual Jazz: Esoteric, Modal + Deep Jazz From The Underground 1968-77' is a pure gem.

via flyglobalmusic (excellent post btw)
When Gilles Peterson says, “there’s tracks on this album I haven’t heard off. And I’m a collector” you know that Jazzman’s lastest compilation has some truly rare stuff on it. Better than that, it reall is the most essentiall release of the year so far; No Jive!

i also highly recommend Ohio Penitentiary 511 Jazz Ensemble's 'psych city'.

serious business i tells ya!

Download 05 Ayo Ayo Nene

buy: back to africa by mor thiam (iTunes) 'spiritual jazz' from  iTunes (jazzman records) or stones throw

madvillan! nuff said.

soul junction

got this at dublin flea market yesterday. 5 Euro! dvd with documentary, cd all nicely wrapped.
finding it hard to see links to where you can buy it but i'd recommend you'd check it out.

check out gino washington around 2:16 mins. classic.

tune from the documentary above (the way of the crowd) on northern soul and wigan casino. great story. and music. and dancing. a scene.
Download 19 Let's Get Ugly

also got:

Download 08 Take Me

buy: stonesthrow

and the book

 

46 days of lent...day 2

gotta admit that i picked this up from recloose just yesterday but reckoned it was a good follow up to yesterday's post.
a gem of a tune from the nite-liters that really is a study in drumology. pure percussion funk to brighten up your spring day.

Download The Nite-Liters- Drumology

check out more by the nite-liters over at discogs and dustygrooves.

brass in pocket

much thanks to younglee from ok_ma for sending me these new year delights.
hopefully ge to see these guys live soon. been too long just checking out their sounds virtually.

Download Earth Wind and Fire - System of Survial (Ok_Ma re edit)

Download 02 Brass in my pocket version 1

healed

Two superb covers of the classic Marvin Gaye tune, 'sexual healing'.

First off is the Hot 8 Brass Band from New Orleans laying down some fine horns and soulful singing that gets your hair standing on end.
Download 01_sexual_healing.mp3

Second is Hot Chip's wonderfully electronic take.
Download 09_sexual_healing.mp3

Buy: Original, Hot 8's, Hot Chip's

another day...

another birthday!
woohoo.
34 today but who's counting?

I sent this track over to Lemur for his 17th birthday the other day. Check out his bday compilation post made up of tunes from various from all around the world. Its a veritable feast of great music to keep you going through the day.

So, happy birthday to me and for you, I give Bobby Love's 'Funky Birthday'.
Download 01_funky_birthday.mp3

Buy: iTunes, Amazon (US), (UK)

get it on

sleeve from 'sleeve & lowman' fame as featured on cubikmusik back in November 2006, brings us back with some old school sample slinging covering de la soul, arrested development and more with this choice summer tune that you can be sure to drop to get everyone smiling and grooving. I know that a certain JC will be into this and I look forward to playing this on a (hopefully) sunny Friday afternoon in his back yard in two weeks.

Out on the excellent 'single minded' compilation from Freestyle Records that also brought you Lack of Afro (cubikmusik post here) amongst others such as Chaka Khan, Fred Wesley, Soulive, Chali 2Na.
Check out some pretty impressive accolades on Freestyle Records here.

Download 03_get_it_on.mp3

buy: 12" (direct from label-UK), digital @ gigacrate (US) , clickgroove (UK)

Funkaho

The Funkaho story (from Stones Throw)....

"Funkaho, together with his backup singer Robin and army of evil goats, recorded three cassette-only EPs at M&A Laundromat in Oakland, CA, in 1998. Funkaho was in and out of trouble with the Oakland Police Dept.,who dubbed him "Funk's first super villain."

Funkaho's heavy funk, space-jam-influenced, evil vibe caught the attention of Peanut Butter Wolf when he heard the music booming from a mini-truck outside his house at 4 am in the morning.   

Stones Throw Records released "My 2600" as the first of its Jukebox 45 Series that kicked off in the summer of 1999, and the "Villain Style" EP in 2003.      

Funkaho performed only one show in support of this single, at Berkeley, CA's punk rock club 924 Gilman. After this, Funkaho declared, "My statement has been made," and retired from music - but not from evil."

Also check out this Vice Interview 
Captain Funkaho at  Discogs

Download 07_my_2600.mp3

Buy Funkaho at Discogs, Amazon Download, Amazon CD (Jukebox 45's), iTunes (USA), AudioLunchBox.

Kikin' It

You know when you're wandering around checking out new music and not really finding anything and suddenly something catches your eye. You decide to look into it only to find a gem that appeals to your ears. This is one such find. Hard to get lots of info. on Gary Davis and Mr.Chinn from this release but then you start digging....
Out (digitally) on Smash Hit Music Co. who I mentioned here before I am gonna revert to Rong Music, Imeem, Chocolate Star and Dusty Grooves to give you the lowdown on this release and the artists behind it right now. There appears to be so much more on Gary Davis who at first appears to be an elusive character yet is an extensive and exhaustive subject. Amazing and so very exciting.

Chocolate Star (by Chin Li)
"Well! Tewnty-five years ago, Mr. Davis was in New York working for Peter Brown. He produced, arranged, composed and played on many of Peter's Queen Constance projects from early 1979 through 1981. It was about the end of the Disco Era and the start of Rap and Hip Hop and Peter was putting out more records on his independent label then anybody. He is one of it's founding fathers. Peter was the man behind marketing and putting the music out there. Mr. Davis, Patrick Adams, Michael Campbell and others like them were Peter's music makers. They were shaping what was to become Hip Hop."

Rong Music:
The elusive DJ/Producer/Remixer known as Mr. Chinn, was born somewhere between the depths of New Jersey and the new rising moon. Early on Chinn was introduced to music and couture via his immediate family whom were comprised of artists & musicians. Chinns father was a Broadway performer, avid record collector and worked with many early R&B and Soul acts from New York City. "I feel blessed to have been born into such a beautiful time for music", say's Chinn "My fathers involvement with early R&B laid down the foundation for my love of soul music...In the early 80's the kids in my neighborhood started a band...it was our first project & we played on the bottom of buckets live at the park...this was the beginning for me." Years later Chinn revisited his fathers vinyl records & began to make his connection as a DJ and producer.  Chinn would then be signed by legendary producer Jellybean Benitiz via his own imprint, Jellybean Soul. Mr. Chinn now resides in Los Angeles and over time has touched original productions & remixes for varied labels and artists such as  A Guy Called Gerald, Peter Brown, P&P, Gary Davis, Chocolate Star, Meecheeko from Japan, Rong Music."

Imeem:
"Mr. Chinn earns himself permanent street creds in disco circles by connecting with disco legend Gary
Davis to deliver this long overdue collection of Davis' most famous and lesser-known works from the late
70's and early 80's.  A New Jersey Story is exactly that, a introspective footprint of our musical heritage, a product of personal life stories and cultural shifts. A history riddled with themes that remain as relevant today as the music that inspired them. Mainly though, it's some of the funkiest shit you've probably never heard!"

Beatfunk and soulful grooves with some great observations on old school versus new school hip hop and how it has changed. Give me old school any day.

Download new_jersey_storypreview_mix.mp3

12/27- Removed song (Kikin' It From The Oldskool) and posting preview mix of the album for you to check out at the request of the label.

Buy 'A New Jersey Story' from Dusty Grooves/ iTunes
Gary Davis-Chocolate Star (best of) @ Boomkat
Gary Davis-The Professor Here @ Just Press Play
Queen Constance @ Dusty Grooves

Pimpin' Joytime

Some of the baddest, funkiest, kick ass beats are about to come your way...turn it up!

PJT's high Stepping is from The Pimps Of Joytime and is taken off their album, High Steppin' on Wonderwheel Recordings (label head is DJ Nickodemus). Hailing from Brookyln and New Orleans (with some kind of a stint in San Francisco) the sound is beat heavy and front loaded with some serious New Orleans style funk with an underlay of west coast groove that is next to impossible to resist.

Download 01_pjts_high_steppin.mp3

Buy: USA Download, Euro CD, USA EP, USA EP (cheaper)

Cheers,
Cubik

Hypnotic

Came across the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble this morning and this tune has been on repeat all day as I drove around Austin getting all of my Saturday bits and pieces done. Amazingly powerful sounds.

Hailing from Chicago but reaching out around the world Hypnotic Brass Ensemble are made up of the eight memebrs of which 7 are  brothers and they are the sons of legendary jazzer Phil Cohran (Sun Ra Arkestra, Artistic Heritage Ensemble, AACM). What a sound that these guys conjure up; energetic, passionate, and moving (emotionally and physically). "Music Medicine". Big time; this is why I love music.

Heres a New York times video with the tune and some info. on the ensemble.

Heres a clip of the tune live, with Mos Def on stage.

Check out theirspace, their discography (courtesy of Djouls), and the blog to get some free live tunes with Mos Def recorded at the Apollo.

Download balicky_bon.mp3

Love is all around me

Kinda keeping with a little bit of a soul/ funk here as I am finding gems scattered all around and they're so hard to resist.
This is such a cracker of a tune and one that can close out any party with lots of dancing, smiling and hugging. So-whether your sun is coming up, going down or you're in the middle of your day-enjoy this blissful tune.
Lack of Afro' album, Press On, takes its cues from the heavy funk and soul of the 70s, and giving them something of an updated twist. Signed to the super label Freestyle Records and playing most of the instruments himself, Adam Gibbons has created a contemporary classic that we can expect to be held as one of the great funk albums.

Download 04_touch_my_soul.mp3 

Cheers
Cubik 

Buy:
Download UK
CD: US / UK
Vinyl: UK/ US (delayed)

If I Ever

I'm in a slowed down kinda mood tonight. Maybe its the red wine or the busy day. Or maybe I was just meant to find this tune. The preview is all slow and full of R&B (the old R&B-not that newfangled stuff) and thats why I bought it. Then as you start going through the tune it starts to go into a great soul driven segway and back again.Its hard to describe these kinds of tunes, especailly for one like me who's not into writing too much. :-)

Perhaps, to borrow from the artist's way of describing what he sounds like is "a box of old records falling down the stairs then landing on a record player, some in key, some not."
A good description but doesn't do the amazing sounds of this album enough justice.

Aldo Vanucci has been around for a while now, after having put out releases on the mighty Catskils label he landed with Good Living Records and has released the album that this track is taken from, Straight Lift. The album covers everything you could expect to hear from Plymouths 14th Best DJ "a bit of soul, a suggestion of funk, some party style hip hop, a cheeky cover version and some firing jazz"

Download 05_i_love_you_baby.mp3

Buy
Download  US / UK         
CD: US / UK

Cheers,
Cubik

Lonely Eden

So, my mate Younglee from Ok_Ma is one busy guy. What with making top tunes, remixing for the likes of Arch-Typ and Jonny Miller and DJing around Europe I don't know where he finds the time to do anything else.
But he does.
And when someone like him brings something to me I sit up and pay attention.
So, Younglee emails me a few weeks ago about Randolph, released on Still Music (voted as one of the 10 best up and coming labels by XLR8R in August 2007), I sat up and literally listened. The album, "Lonely Eden", features tracks with Waajeed, Amp Fiddler, Stephanie Mckay and DJ Dez (Slum Village).
My favourite tune from the album has got to be  Leanin'  with its killer bassline.

Randolph hails from Detroit and "Lonely Eden" is the follow up to his first album released on Moodymann's Mahogani label.
The album crosses the paths of many styles but sits on none as indicated by Randoplh himself:
“I’ve never been happy staying in one place, if my style is diverse its coming from a lot of different places.”  And so, we invited him to talk about his influences, of which there are many. So many in fact that we won't be posting songs of these influences.

Unfortunately we can't post any tunes (yet) from the album but perhaps StillMusic/ Randolph will let us slip something on here for a week or so.

In the meantime check out hisspace for some sounds or go to XLR8R for a free tune or buy the album.

***********************************************************************************************************************

There have been some many Artist/Songs?Albums that have influenced me I fear it would take up far
more typing and reading time than humanly feasible.  With that I will attempt to give you the condensed version:

1. Jimi Hendrix "A Band Of Gypsies"
2. Led Zepplin "Black Dog" (Hear it)
3. Earth Wind and Fire "Spirit"
4. Otis Redding and Jimi Hendrix "LIVE"
5. David Bowie "Heros"
6. Mahavishnu Orchestra "The Inner Mounting Flame"
7. YMO
8. Brand X
9. Rufus
9. Bill Withers "LIVE"
10. Elise Regina and Tom ? "Elise e Tom
11. Sly "Fresh"
12. Thomas Dolby "Field Work", "Flat Earth"
13. R.L. Burnside (all his works)
14. Stevie Wonder "Talking Book"
15. Ry Cooder
16. Roberta Flack
17. XTC "English Settlement"
18. Brenda Russell (her first solo album)
19. Joni Mitchell
20. Joan Armertrading (anything)
21. Miles Davis "Sketches of Spain"
22. Motown
23. Staxx
24. Gino Vannelli "Brother 2 Brother"
25. P-Funk
26. James Brown
27.Sam and Dave
28. Weather Report
29. Hank Williams Sr.
30.. Ohio
Players.......................

..............................thats enough!
***********************************************************************************************************************

Cheers

Floorshaker

It sure has been a while since I posted. Didn't realize it was that long.
Anyways-got this tune tonight and I can't think of a better tune to come back with.

A few weeks ago I played at the Austin Sound Off and had such a great time. Overall I guess I played for about 2-2 1/2 hours covering all kinds of stuff some of which I have posted here. The best reaction I got was to my set with lots of funk and soul sounds booming out of the speakers. It was a lovely sunny day so the mood was just right for such fine tunes as So Fine, No Groove Where I Come From and THE top tune in my speakers right now Beggin (pilooski edit) (can't remember who sent me this tune but whoever it was..cheers).

So, onto tonight's pleasure. This goes out to my Swiss mate who was at the show. I have no doubt that he will love this tune and will be dancing around with his two kids to this one.
Casino are signed to the superb label Corsair Records. This is just a monster track that is filled with Northern Soul magic for all you old schoolers and new coolers out there. (Yep-totally cheesy right?). ;-)

Update: September 16th, 2007. Track taken down after limited time at the request of record label.
Thanks to Jenny over at Corsair for letting us keep it up until now.

 

Update 2:

Just to let you know that Casino are live in session on Dermot O'Leary's BBC Radio 2 show tomorrow (Sept. 22nd)  afternoon (4.30pm-6.30pm GMT) playing new single 'Floorshaker', plus a special Casino cover version and interview.

You can catch it online at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/shows/dermot/

Try and tune in if you get the chance.

Buy it: Download/ Vinyl

Pound of Rock

Warning: Highly Addictive tune!

Ruffy and Tuffy bring it on with this funk-rock sound  with a heavy 4/4 beat, serious bass playing and features some of the best spoken word on a tune ever.
This is released on the amazing label Smash Hit Music Co. that is based in San Francisco. Smash Hit Music Co. is also home to Chicken Lips, !!! and some other great artists.

Enjoy!
Download 01_the_pound_of_rock.mp3

Buy The Pound of Rock EP ClickGroove (UK) iTunes (USA)

UPDATE: Ruffy and Tuffy are now called '40 Thieves'- check out theirspace and their mix page.

Carnival

I just love the sound of steel drums-there is just sometime about their sounds that immediately remind me that I need to go to the Caribbean someday and not just to experience Jamaica.

So, driving home tonight I overheard a brief story that was a tribute to Carlos Lezama who developed the West Indian Carnival on Labor Day in Brooklyn which by all accounts is an amazing time for all. Carlos Lezama died earlier this week.

From Caribean Beat Blog:
EVERYBODY’S Caribbean Magazine publisher, Herman Hall, says, “As a young member and director of the West Indian-American Day Carnival Association in the early 1970s. Lezama influenced, motivated and inspired me. I knew what Mr. Lezama endured to develop the annual carnival on Labor in Brooklyn. He brought recognition to the Caribbean-American community, united us and played a major role in enhancing the quality of life in New York City. He was admired and respected by governors and mayors of New York State and City respectively. He was a great and charismatic leader.”

Check out some photos from the carnival here.

So, in honour of Mr. Lezama, I am posted this amazing tune by the Trinidad Steel Drummers. It is a cover of The Meters classic track, 'Cissy Strut' taken off the amazing Mystic Brew compilation on Fat City I hope that he enjoys it.

This really belongs in JC's Vinyl Room as it was taken from his excellent collection.

Download cissy_strut.mp3

Cheers,
Cubik

 

Keepintime

"I don't know anything about that jigga jigga stuff-you play that and I'll play this..."
-Paul Humphrey, 2000

if there is anything that I love more than music it is the influence of old sounds on new.
The documentary film, Keepintime, delivers on both counts. I am gonna use the info. directly from the makers to discuss this documentary. See a trailer below.

Keepintime started as a simple idea, let’s bring some of the most revered and notable L.A. session drummers together for a photo shoot. Then have them talk about the famous (to us) recordings that we (those whose ears have been opened through hip-hop) treasure, sample and discuss endlessly.             The musicians (Roy Porter, Earl Palmer, Paul Humphrey and James Gadson) were excited at the prospect of sitting together and discussing old times, old friends and the business. The first problem we encountered though was that to our ears the famous sessions were in fact often beyond the reach of our musician’s memory.
Babu, J.Rocc and Cut Chemist (along with Numark, Madlib, Derf Reklaw and Shortkut) are fishermen of the elusive. Cumulatively, they have a half-century of beat shopping experience. Similarly, they are the best turntablists in the City of Angels. As a result they would be the  best way to snatch up those almost lost glimpses of music and represent them to their creators, that was the moment when we knew we had a film.The puzzled smiles of Paul Humphrey and Earl Palmer speak multitudes on the perceived gap that exists between the musicians of today and their forefathers. However, lest we forget these men were progressive risk takers in their respective professions and a few turntables weren’t going to get in the way of a good conversation.

All I can add is that it is a must see for music lovers and especially any beat junkies out there like myself; the interaction between these beat masters is just unbelievable and such a  pleasure to see as much as hear.

Brought to you by Mochilla and B+ (a fellow Irishman).

The project also brought us some fine remix tunes-here are my favourites.
Artist: Charlie Dark
Tune: Keepintime Theme
Download 01_keepintime_theme.mp3

Artist: King Ruly & Toy Selectah!
Tune: Bumpin Time! (Sistema Local Mexmix Version)
Download 04_bumpin_time_sistema_local_mexmix_version.mp3

You can't to be able to buy the DVD anywhere but the CD is available.

Also see Brasilintime a similar project between some artists and turntabilists from the Keepintime show and Brasil.  I love my DJ Nuts tshirt from this show.

Cheers,
Cubik