cubikmusik

silhouette

Much goodness from this broken beat/ nu-jazz/nu-soul powerhouse team of melody makers with Bembe Segue (see video below with Mark de Clive-Lowe), Kaidi Tatham (Bugz In The Attic: track below with Mr.Scruff) and Dego (4hero, see previous post of Les Fleur),  and for this second release (on 2000Black) they are joined by Philadelphia's Lady Alma (of 4hero's "Hold It Down" fame and who appears on King Britt's latest album, The Intricate Beauty). I am particularly loving the tune below and also 'We Used To Run Steady' which evokes summer and bbq's and chilling with friends with laughter and tunes. 

Check the tour dates (US only for now).

Download 01 Constant Questions (Original)

Mr Scruff & Kaidi Tatham 'Fresh Noodles' by Mr Scruff

Buy: 2000Black  dusty grooves, iTunes , 

window seat

 

lots of talk and pondering going on over the 'meaning' of this video, etc., etc. not sure if I need to think about it that much to be honest. i just feel it is very typical of Erykah Badu to do something like this (inspired by matt & kim's lessons learned video), to provoke thought and discussion around her art. fair dues to her and her crew for pulling it off. as she said herself over on twitter that the video  "was shot guerilla style, no crew , 1 take , no closed set , no warning , 2 min . , don town dallas , then ran like hell..."

the album drops in two days and anticipation is rising. I for one cannot wait as all the reports are exciting and from the leaks we've heard it's going to be a treat. In the meantime, if you don't have it already, buy New AmErykah Part I, listen to the Seiji remix of 'Honey' , get your ears around the sublime 'Strawberry Incense' and check the video. 

Download ErykahBadu-StrawberryIncense

mercy mercy me

from Jay Negron (DL below). beautifully done:

When Marvin Gaye originally recorded this groundbreaking LP, he used many different recording techniques.He used 2 sets of vocals and separated them: falsetto on one side and tenor on the other.He also brought the rhythm section to the front with accent on the bongos. Motown bosses (Berry Gordy & Company) did not like the result and remixed it more conventionally for the 1971 release. Thirty years later (2001) they finally released the original mix now called "The Detroit Funk Mix"; (after The Funk Brothers, the Motown rhythm section who played wonderfully in this session)

In 1971 as a 15 year old I made a medley of the songs from this LP on a cassette. Recently I was listening to all the remixes from this LP and decided to re-create the Medley I did but NOW using The Funk Brothers versions and a great Jimmy Michaels mix on "Mercy Mercy Me".

It came out just as I wanted!!

Medley includes:

"What's Going On", "What's Happening Brother", "God Is My Friend", "Mercy Mercy Me", & "Inner City Blues"

Marvin Gaye - What's Goin On Medley (Jski Mix-2010) by Jay Negron

songs of praise: sunday march 20th

 

I've Got My Music (Original Vocal Version of "Turn On Some Music") Marvin Gaye

The Eraser    Christian Scott 

Sacred    Nailah 

Evaporar    Lucas Febraro

Escapizm    Infinite Potentials

Strawberry Incense (prod. Madlib)    Erykah Badu

Kondor - Tribute To Nujabes

nujabes e    k u r o i s o u l 

Feather feat. Cise Starr & Akin from CYNE    Nujabes

Exhibit C (Astronote Remix)    Jay Electronica

lonely is the night    Blundetto

G'hot Damn (Produced by Lord Quest)    Unlikely Heroes

Secondhand Sureshots    J Rocc

Safety Dance    J Dilla

Affection (feat. Ahu)    Grooveman Spot

Time Is Right For Love (Prince of Ballard Remix)    Bobby Reed

lay it down    Flevans

To Know You Is To Love You    Greyboy

Mediate    INXS

04 Track 4 ( can anyone name this track please?)

Bump This    HomeMade

Why    Pangaea

Perv    SFV Acid

001 - underlined (mr beatnik italic dub) - atjazz

Ring My Bell    Blood Sisters 

sly & robbie's billie jean edit    onur engin 

Shimmy Rool-BPS Skank mix 1    The Cundeez 

Bush Skank    Exotic Pets

Pimp    The Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band

Transcendence    Nujabes + Fat Jon

Download Songs of praise with cubikmusik_march 21st_spaceinvaderradio.com_cubikmusik.com

purple brain

back in 2009 word got out about this london based producer that was creating innovative beats with samples galore that you could spend days, nay weeks, trying to figure out. 

well now we hear that the album, Paul White & The Purple Brain, is coming out on One-Handed Music (home to Bullion and Fulgeance, as featured here) and Now-Again Records in June.

With packaging from past releases looking like this I am almost as curious as what the release looks like as much as sounds like. Almost.....

So, with that, onto the music. Opening up with psychedelic licks and organ grinds Paul brings in the beats that while lending a new angle to hearing the sounds they certainly could easily have been rolled out with the original clip to much love. Gonna be exciting to hear what else he does across the album. Expect to be excited, mesmerized, surprised and quite delighted.

From the press release:

A collaboration of sorts, the entire record is based around and inspired by the work of little-known Swedish psych-rock guru S.T. Mikael. Heavy on Eastern influences and otherworldly concerns, Mikael’s music ranges from searing electric guitar-led dirges to dreamlike ballads to ghostly atmospheric experiments and has been issued in tiny quantities since the 1990s on the Subliminal Sounds label.

Download AncientTreasure

oscillate

 

 a few weeks back I wrote about the first taste of the upcoming Oscillations release from Jus' Like Music and Apple Juice Break. Tonight I am really delighted to share more info. on Part 1 of the release covering 20  artists from around the world, to come out on March 29th. We get a teaser mix of all 20 tunes with just 45 seconds from each tune to get you interested. The artist in both releases cover the genres of hip-hop, electronica, neo-soul, dubstep and much in between and the releases will feature primarily exclusive, or at least previously unreleased material. Some of these artists will have been featured on cubikmusik over the past while so I'm chuffed to see this happening. Also, another nice feature will be the showcase of different visual artists in the digital booklet to accompany the release.

So, check out the mix below, grab the free tune (Gaffer Tape by Vital) and make sure to check out the bandcamp page on March 29th to get the tracks. Great to see this kind of activity from blogs to take their support for artists a step further.

Download Gaffer Tape

Jus Like Music & Apple Juice Break present: Oscillations Part 1 Teaser Mix by juslikemusic

rock my hologram

 

 

just a quick post to share this amazing tune and video from juice aleem. check the album. heavy stuff. think the clonius and roots manuva.

7 day fool

 

got this tasty little re-edit from flavorheard under their Whiskey Baron moniker. this one goes out to Phil Cooper who I know has a liking for Northern Soul so I reckon this might scratch that itch of his. Originally out in 1961 by Etta James it was covered more recently by Jully Black. solid stomping tune.

Download 7 day fool (whiskey barons edit)

follow flavorheard on soundcloud

eglo

nice one to SpineTV for putting this together. An interesting insight into Eglo records out of London with Alex Nut, Funkineven (with the tune 'Mad Swing' that is massive) and Fatima (of  the beautiful Lil' Girl tune from Shafiq Husayn). Only missing Mr. Floating Points this time round. Its always great to hear some of the stories behind a label that you admire for its consistent output and dedication to quality music. It goes against the grain of all the horror stories about the music industry, etc. so refreshing to see and inspiring to watch. Got the link to this via Soul-Identity.

Here's a Floating Points remix of Fela Kuti's No Enemy and also, check below for a clip from an upcoming release from Floating Points. As ever, big!

Shark Chase by floatingpoints

pop korn

 

 

yeh, ace tune and video from the masters of jazz-punk/ punk-jazz, soil & pimp sessions (previously featured here) out on brownswood recordings.

still bill

Bill Withers is a true legend of not just music but of the wonder of the human spirit.

This documentary, made by Alex Vlack and Damani Baker and acquired by the now defunct B-Side entertainment group,gives us a glimpse into the world of an artist that has influenced so many others while being an integral element in our musical journey and education.

See if there any screenings in your area or maybe organise your own? If you're in Dublin and would be interested in attending a screening leave a comment, drop me an email ([email protected]) or hit me up on twitter as myself and Confused Eclectic are looking into setting up a screening here. thanks to julien at laid back for turning me onto this one.

Bill Withers - Make A Smile For Me (Trishes Edit) by trishes

Still Bill Trailer from B-Side Entertainment on Vimeo.

bump this

shouts to treesforbreakfast for turning me onto this from HomeMade (Full Crate, FS Green & Grand Jackson) . Love the way this track drops off and picks back up with a little more 'oompf'. A great track to get you moving with some fine bass and horn section accompanied by excellent synth drops. big tune from this trio of talents from Amsterdam. 

for more from Full Crate and FS Green I highly recommend 22Tracks for some of their selections. an excellent site and way to track new tunes and artists to be watching for.

Download 04 Bump This

competition time!

I don't think i've ever ran a competition on the blog but here it goes.

Regular readers will know that later this year cubikmusik will be releasing a charity compilation in aid of Nordoff Robbins. we have 22 artists from around the world creating or donating exclusive tracks for this compilation. I'll be releasing the names of these artists in the coming weeks but be assured that if you like cubikmusik you will want their music!

the one criteria they have been given is that the music is suitable for babies/ kids as lullably or 'waking up' music. an alternative to the 'baby mozart' type CDs with music created by contemporary electronic artists. some of these artists will be known to cubimusik readers and others will not so I hope that this compilation will also help these artists reach a wider audience.

We are also exploring the possibility of making a documentary of the making of some of the music with artist interview, etc. This would be available online and with the CD version of the release.

Needless to say I am very excited about this venture for cubikmusik, with a chance to work with so many artists that I have supported over the years and all of it to support such a great charity as Nordoff Robbins.

So, the competition:

We need a name for the compilation. I have thrown a few names around but can't find one that 'sticks' yet. I would like to get reader's help in coming up with a name that we can use.

So, reading the above description and previous posts (here and here) I would like suggestions of what we can call the release.

Please leave suggestions in the comments below or you can hit me up on Twitter.

The winner will get the following:

- A CD of the release with tracks from all artists (22 right now, more to follow) w/ any included additional material.

- Free entry into the launch party which is planned to be held in London around August.

- Major shout-outs on the blog. :)

Cheers,

C

songs of praise: sunday march 7th

 

praise be! 

after weeks of hiccups, mishaps and no-shows 'songs of praise with cubikmusik' came back tonight. thanks to @paulriley1982 for his patience as I kept trying to sort my computer, software, etc., etc. out.

so, here is today's show for you to download, with track-listing also. please track down the tunes you like and spend some of your hard earned $$ to support the artists. 

songs of praise w/ cubikmusik march 7th: sundays 6pm-8pm gmt spaceinvaderradio.com  by  cubikmusik

20 Winks    BUG

Uptown    Rich Medina

Love Confusion    Ghostpoet

Rockers Delight Instrumental 12"    Prince Blackman 

Capo    The Hippy Boys 

195 lbs.    Nightmares On Wax 

Computa Love    B. Bravo 

One And Only    Everett James 

Hippy Boys v Kweli

Cash and Carry Me Home    Ghostpoet

Alailoye (Instrumental)    Shuanise

Nic's Groove (Nicky Masons Electric Bounce Rock Skate Rmx)    The Foreign Exchange

Leave the City Outside (Featuring Oddisee) Radio Edit    DJ Center

THEY LIVE THEY LOVE THEY LEAVE    THEY LIVE! 

bossy vocal    Kellis (blundetto edit)

My Adidas    Taggy Matcher

Police Officer    Smiley Culture 

Who Say Me Done    Cutty Ranks

The Stopper    Cutty Ranks

Bogus Buddy    Western Roots 

Dreader Than Dread    Honey Boy Martin

King Tubby - King Tubby Dub    King Tubby

Cumbia biachra el remolon 

Plastic People    Four Tet 

Need You    Darkstar

Basstronic    Unknown DJ 

Voodoo Ray     Guy Called Gerald 

Rock with You    Jazztronik 

Touched My Soul    Nadirah Shakoor 

Day's End    DJ Krush

Like A Ship    T.L. Barrett & Youth For Christ Choir

secondhand sureshots

 

secondhand sureshots is a documentary made by dublab and on sale via stones throw. 

"filmed experiment in creative sound recycling. Dublab Dublab directors Bryan “Morpho” Younce & Mark "frosty" McNeill sent beatmakers Daedelus, Nobody, J.Rocc and Ras G on safari into L.A. thrift stores with orders to make new music out of five finds while the cameras filmed the whole process. The result is a mini-documentary about putting new life into old vinyl.  Over 2 hours of footage, music & bonus material."

never ceases to amaze me how peeps like this can listen to one thing and pull it apart to use parts to create something entirely new. props! 

Download Jrocc-sechandsureshots

it's a beautiful day

 

 

a great night last night over at my best friend's house for dinner. arrived early so we could see the kids. such fun to hang out with them and have a laugh. everyone else arrived then with another couple coming along that we weren't expecting. kids off to bed after staying up a bit late. we went from dinner with 5 of my fave people in the world to 7 of my fave people in the world. been hanging out with these people for 20 years now and it just gets better. ace! 

my mate is a great cook so we knew it was gonna be good. fried calimari for starters and a rib of beef (italianfoodies recipe). followed by meringue (made by the 5 year old) with cream and blueberries and then coffee and cheeses with crackers. all that accompanied by great wine, laughter, stories and reminiscing. 

new project for me: gather stories from all my friends from over the years, combine with photos and make a book for each of us. someday we'll all be getting old and still hanging out but maybe not able to remember all this. makes me sad but makes me happy to know how lucky i am to have these friends for most of my lifetime.

As I type this on twitter I see the following from @Kormega : "Seeing the sun rising in a clear blue sky once again is a very uplifting experience. These are the things we live for, not iPhones & XBoxes." The same can be said for friends. 

its a sunny day and i'm hungover and awake too early. my girlfriend is fast asleep downstairs resting with my soon to be born daughter. i'm a lucky man and the song that came into my head this morning was this. i'm reading Mark Oliver Everett's book 'Things the Grandchildren Should Know' right now and its a great read. the guy has had an astonishing life, tragic in so many ways but with an amazing outlook on everything. He has managed to capture it all in the same way that he captures life around him in his songs.

so yeh, goddamn right it's a beautiful day. live it.

Download 15 Mr. E's Beautiful Blues (Untitled)

also check 'fresh feeling' off 'souljacker'.

buy: daisies of the galaxy, Things the Grandchildren Should Know

ramadanman

i still like me a bit of minimal every now and again and this sure tickles that fancy for me.

ramadanman's 'humber' on the apple pips label out of bristol.

Ramadanman - Humber (Apple Pips Recordings) from applepips on Vimeo.

drumlesson zwei

Christian Prommer talking about his upcoming album Drumlesson Zwei, an immense collection of acoustic jazz covers of classic electronic tracks. Out April 2010 on !K7 Records. And while we're at it go for a trio of 'strings of life'.

by all accounts i reckon this is gonna be a top album of 2010.  as Lefto says : 

"Christian Prommer's "Drumlesson Zwei" .... Niiiice!"

"Christian Prommer deconstructing Jean Michel Jarre's Oxigen Part IV... interesting, can't beat the original though !!!"

Download The Williams Fairey Brass Band - Strings Of Life  

Download 11 Strings of Life

Download 27 Strings of Life

buy 'strings of life': christian prommer, william fairey brass band, derrick may

under the influence with...ghostpoet

*March 10th, 2010 UPDATE: Just heard that Ghostpoet is joining the Brownswood family of artists which is great news. Needless to say he's happy about this latest development in his journey. Best of luck to Ghostpoet and Brownswood. I can't wait for the album!

been a while since our last installment in the series and once again I am honored to have our latest guest talking about his musical influences. welcome to ghostpoet , a musically talented mc/ spoken wordsmith and gent. i heard him a few weeks back on gilles peterson's bbc show and was immediately struck by the enthralling vocals and minimal beats to accompany. then we got to check him out at the WWAs and the live show was great. much livelier than one would expect and it had the crowd well engrossed. 

good things in 2010 ahead of this particular musical poet who i very much look forward to supporting on his journey. 

check him on myspace, twitter or his blog.

cheers

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Ghostpoet

Under The Influence

 

I’ve been toying with putting this together for awhile, really tried to dig deep and think of the song’s down the years, that has not as much influenced what I make now, pulled at the heart strings and brought a tear to the cheek.

 

1. Mos Def – Umi Says. I think it was the first neo/soul/hip-hop track I ever heard, it started something, planted a seed of sorts, it was that bass and keys. Mos singing to the heavens and creating that hot summer night’s vibe.

 

2. Fela Kuti – Water Get No Enemy. The welcoming of the brass, the piano plonk, the words . . . wow . . . The words were like fireflies, dancing amongst the afro jazz haze, I discovered Fela when I was really young and I was enthralled by the stories he weaved around those infectious grooves, love his work dearly.

 

3. Badly Drawn Boy – Camping Next To Water. Pure emotion, I was too young to appreciate it as a kid, I remember buying the Bewilderbeast album in Woolworth’s as a nipper, it was just so exciting, all that noise, experimentation, waves of sound . . . It’s one of those tunes I’ve always kept close like my house keys.

 

4. S.i.A  - Little Man (Exeman Rmx). Maaaan, I was heavily into oldskool garage as a teen, dj’d and mc’d in my uni years. When Sia’s voice drop’s in, my heart just lift’s, it was the combination of her haunting vocal and production that was just so different for the time, I remember hearing this dropped in at raves and the noise! The joy on ravers’ faces! It made me really appreciate what music can do to people.

 

5. Wiley – Eskimo. When I got into grime in my teens and more heavily in uni, this tune was a like a firework set off in my brain, I couldn’t play any type of instrument (and still can’t) and here was this monster of a track made using a computer, my love affair with electronics had begun.

(streaming roll deep's eskimo although i prefer the instrumental version)

 

6. The Streets – Has It Come To This. It was a mish mash of the underground music I loved and I related to the words so much, such honesty and everydayness. So different from everything around at the time, a curveball of sorts and it was a great source of inspiration at the time.

 

7. Roots Manuva – Dreamy Days. Brings back so many memories! Such a contemplative tune, is it the piano melody? Is it the strings? Or manuva mc just doing what he does? Discovering Root’s Manuva made me really look at what I was doing musically. Him, Ty and The Streets gave me the confidence to just be me me me.

 

8. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Pin. New York Indie has a place in my heart, such great music. Loved this track for it’s energy, melody and dark lyrics, it just drew me in and didn’t let me go for awhile, was really captivated by there artwork as well, gave me real food for thought.

 

9. Bloc Party – This Modern Love. Just beautiful, the guitars intertwining, the gathering pace of the drums, Kele’s lyric’s get to me every time, mantra’s to a unseen lover, jostling for emotional positioning, great stuff.

 

10. Square pusher – Lambic 9 Poetry. There was not one person I played this tune to who wasn’t moved in some way, it just trot’s along, starts to swerve left and right, then opens out into this opus of beauty, I still listen to it today and time stands still, nothing else matters for 6 minute’s and 56 seconds.

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ghostpoet-love confusion  by  cubikmusik

also check out the amazing 'cash & carry me home' over at jus' like music

a tribe called quest movie

via boycott magazine comes news of an upcoming movie about A Tribe Called Quest featuring Pharell, Nas, Mos Def, Travis Barker, Ludacris, Beastie Boys, Santigold, Mary J. Blige, Monie Love, Busta Rhymes, Pete Rock, Common, Large Professor, De La Soul, The Jungle Brothers and much more…