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Artifacts - Between A Rock And A Hard Place (Exclusive)
Limited to 200 Pressed on Orange Haze Vinyl & Exclusive to FatBeats.com! After nearly two decades out of print on vinyl, Fat Beats has teamed up with The Artifacts to give the group’s groundbreaking debut Between a Rock and Hard Place the reissue treatment it deserves.
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“These have been a secret in my crates and with so many DJ’s asking it when played. I decided to let the people have them”
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B. COOL-AID - BRWN
B. Cool-Aid is a duo group made up of producer Ahwlee and vocalist Pink Siifu. They released their first album last September ‘17 , entitled BRWN via Akashik Records and June 22nd it will finally be available on vinyl.
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A.G. - THE TASTE OF AMBROSIA
A.G. returns with all-start cast, featuring the likes of Diamond D, Lord Finesse, Alchemist and more. For this album, he’s on his a-game, from beginning to end. Touching on topics from the hip hop biz, street tales and political hypocrisy.
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Baker's Dozen: Elaquent
Fat Beats Records is proud to present the ninth installment of Baker’s Dozen featuring Elaquent, an exclusive vinyl series that shines a light on the best minds of instrumental hip-hop, ambient, and electronic music. Each installment gives one artist carte blanche to capture their signature sound.
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$29.99
10 year anniversary of Atmosphere’s Sad Clown Bad Dub releases #9-#12. Packaging contains 2xLP half black/half white vinyl, encased in uncoated gatefold “coloring book” jacket housing 6 custom-made Sad Clown crayons, an 8-page activity booklet, all new artwork and layout by original “Sad Clown” series artist, Adam Martin, and a free digital download card. The Sad Clown series first started as a string of cassette tapes and CD-R's for Atmosphere to sell on tour. Since its incarnation in 1999, the Sad Clown series has taken on a few forms, including rare 4-track demos, live shows, a DVD, a mixtape, and a pair of 7” singles. In the Summer of 2007, while simultaneously preparing for their thenupcoming album, When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Sh*t Gold, Atmosphere launched the next phase of the series, releasing Sad Clown Bad Summer Number 9, the first of four EP's dedicated to the four seasons; Summer, Fall, Winter & Spring. These seasonal releases were the first in the Sad Clown series to receive full retail distribution, as well as being made available on both, vinyl and CD. Furthermore, these four EP's are packed with a wealth of great songs, showcasing both Slug and Ant at their collective best. These four Sad Clown seasons encompassed fan favorites such as “Don’t Forget”, ”The Rooster”, “Not Another Day”, “Happymess”, and most importantly, “Sunshine”, which is arguably Atmosphere’s biggest song to date. In celebration of the 10 year anniversary of these iconic EP's, we are releasing a special vinyl edition, packaging all four Sad Clown seasons together for the first time, complete with some added treats to make even the saddest clown smile. In addition to the 2xLP custom vinyl, this package includes an 8-page activity book full of custom coloring pages, connect-the-dots, a word find and a maze, and comes complete with 6 custom-made crayons. The entire package was designed by Adam Martin, who also did all the original artwork for Sad Clown volumes 1-7, as well as the Sad Clown Bad Fall EP. The Sad Clown Bad Year special vinyl edition, making your year better since 2018...
$13.99
Vinyl-exclusive remix, featuring Pharoahe Monche and Tek Wu-Tang are the hip-hop Gods from Shaolin aka Staten Island. The group formulated a movement in hip-hop history that deemed them as rap royalty. The album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) is considered one of the best album in hip hop history. The birth of this group introduced and produced careers for artist like Rza, Method Man, Ghostface Killah and Ol’ Dirty Bastard. The album Enter the Wu-Tang is respectively turning 25 in November 2018. The clan will be moving around the globe hitting stages at countless music festivals this summer and fall. The world is set to celebrate one of the most influential and successful groups in hip-hop of all times. Today the group continues to make music and stay true to the culture and sound that they influenced. The group continues to tell the story and give narrative on the past and present of music, fashion and film. The special release of this 12” features a brand new remix and artwork for “Pearl Harbor”. The release will commemorate the passing of Sean Price on August 8th 2015. Sean Price was featured on the Wu-Tang “Saga Continues….” Album back in 2017. Sean Price was an original member of the underground rap crew, Boot Camp Clik. He was known as a prominent and lyrical God. He rose to fame back in the 1990s around the same time as some of the Wu-Tang original members. There was a mutual respect between the crews hailing from Brooklyn and Staten Island.
$24.99
The Internet follow-up their breakthrough Grammy-nominated third album, Ego Death (2015) with Hive Mind. After a lengthy world tour, the band members encouraged each other to explore their identities as solo artists; incredible albums from all 5 members emerged to rapturous response throughout 2017. Feeling the unity of coming back together, however, created the foundation for what became Hive Mind. Syd (vocalist/songwriter), Matt Martians (producer), Steve Lacy (guitarist/vocalist/songwriter), Patrick Paige II (songwriter/bassist), and Christopher Smith (songwriter/drummer) present kaleidoscopic, neo-soul, future sounds here that reveal the growth in their creative chemistry. It's light years beyond their previous output, and even in its slower moments, the LP is both intricate and minimal, giving each member's contributions the space to shine. The result is one of the greatest records in the band's already phenomenal catalog and a standout of 2018.
$10.99
You’ll fall in love with Slum Village all over again with these collectible 45 issues of the J Dilla produced cut “Fall In Love” first issued on the group’s Fantastic Volume II.
$199.99
Bringing all four of Eric B. & Rakim's projects on vinyl, this special edition, one-of-a-kind 8LP box set also features a deluxe booklet, the album's original liner notes, and a 2CD collection containing over 20 rare remixes from 1986 to 1992. You cannot mention rap’s greatest groups of all time without naming Eric B. & Rakim. This latest release, Eric B. & Rakim: The Complete Collection, is a career box set honoring one of hip-hop’s most consequential duos, spanning their greatest releases and moments all in one thoughtfully detailed compendium. Rap’s landscape was forever changed when Rakim emerged from Long Island in the mid 1980s. His contemplative flow coupled with imaginative metaphors had all MCs before him scratching their heads— while all future MCs improved their approach. In a time where MCs kept the party moving to beats, Rakim methodically made partygoers stop and listen. Eric B—born Eric Barrier— was out of Queens, New York with a musical background in traditional instruments like the trumpet and drums. It wasn’t until after high school when Eric B. was introduced to the sampler and he quickly tried his hand at sound experimentation under the tutelage of Juice Crew maestro, Marley Marl. The duo’s first release, Paid In Full, was released in 1987 on 4th & B’way Records and earned a top 10 spot on the Billboard charts. The profoundly impactful album captivated listeners both new and old, and ushered forth huge singles and trailblazing releases— Follow the Leader and Let the Rhythm Hit ‘ Em. Despite not charting well, Follow the Leader became a heralded instant fan favorite, especially with tracks like “Lyrics of Fury,” which to this day is held high in the pantheon of great Rakim moments. Let the Rhythm Hit ’ Em didn’t receive wide industry acclaim but the album’s lyrical content— its complex themes, brevity, and poignant imagery— further cemented Rakim as one of the living greats. It also was one of the first records to achieve the highly sought after “5 Mics” in the Source Magazine at the time. By the time Don’t Sweat the Technique came out, fandom was at a huge high, particularly Rakim’s lyrical wizardry and advanced cadences. While the duo split shortly thereafter, Rakim would go on to be compared to Jazz giants like Thelonious Monk— while this fertile era between ’86-’92 remains one of the most impactful of any within recorded music.
$15.99
Often, art is considered the safe space for dangerous ideas. JPEGMAFIA is a reminder that in a dangerous world, sometimes nowhere is safe. Operating out of Baltimore Maryland but born in New York to Jamaican parents, JPEG spent the bulk of his childhood in East Flatbush, Brooklyn—a neighborhood deeply rooted in West Indian culture and black pride—and the majority of his mid teens in deep south rural Alabama—bouncing from place to place due to rough circumstances at home and after a short stint in prison due to a racially-charged altercation in his late teens, JPEG joined the military where he’d be deployed to different parts of the world, meeting fellow artists and adding new elements to his producing and rapping repertoire. If trap music is the sound of the street, then JPEGMAFIA is trap’s subconscious; dark but not without a humor that makes things even more uncomfortable. His role as villain or satirist, hood protector or nihilist is intentionally hard to put one’s finger on. What more appropriate way to embody the frightening and confusing reality of America today?
$23.99
Experimental Sacramento, CA hip-hop trio and force to be reckoned with, Death Grips - MC Ride, drummer/producer Zach Hill and recording engineer Andy Morin - follow-up 2016's Bottomless Pit with their sixth studio effort Year of the Snitch. The tight-lipped release includes the previously revealed singles "Streaky," "Flies," "Black Paint," "Hahaha," "Dilemma" and "Shitshow" plus collaborations with Academy Award-winning film director/producer Andrew Adamson (Shrek, Shrek II) and Tool bassist Justin Chancellor.
$37.99
The Deluxe CD+LP format will include a 12” booklet featuring brand new liner notes written by Prince’s then engineer Don Batts, as well as candid shots of Prince including never before seen photos. The announcement was made today, June 7, 2018, a day which marks the singer’s 60th birthday. Piano & A Microphone 1983 is set to feature a previously unreleased cassette recording of Prince at the piano at his home studio in Minnesota captured in 1983 and will be released on September 21, 2018. It will be a nine track, 35-minute album. “This raw, intimate recording, which took place at the start of Prince’s career right before he achieved international stardom, is similar in format to the Piano & A Microphone Tour that he ended his career with in 2016,” said Prince Estate entertainment adviser Troy Carter. “The Estate is excited to be able to give fans a glimpse of his evolution and show how his career ultimately came full circle with just him and his piano.” The private rehearsal provides a rare, intimate glimpse into Prince’s creative process as he worked through songs which include ’17 Days‘ and ‘Purple Rain’ (neither of which would be released until 1984), a cover of Joni Mitchell’s ‘A Case Of You‘, ‘Strange Relationship‘ (not released until 1987 on his critically acclaimed Sign O’ The Times album), and ‘International Lover’. The album also includes a rare recording of the 19th Century spiritual ‘Mary Don’t You Weep’, which will be featured during the end credits of Spike Lee’s BlacKKKlansman in cinemas August 2018. For fans of Prince’s spontaneous live medleys, tracks 1-7 of the album are presented in that same format as they were originally recorded.
$37.99
Deluxe version including seven bonus alternate takes of some of the tracks from the standard edition. 2018 archive release. Unknown until 2004 and unheard until now, these recordings by the John Coltrane Quartet are, as Sonny Rollins says in the liner notes, like finding a new room in the Great Pyramid. Featuring the Classic Quartet - John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones - and recorded at the end of a two-week run at Birdland, the music on this album represents one of the most influential groups in music history both performing in a musical style it had perfected and reaching in new, exploratory directions that were to affect the trajectory of jazz from that point forward.
$24.99
The development of hip-hop during the 1990s is partially indebted to the styles that were cultivated on the West Coast, more specifically in the state of California. When one thinks of the California hip-hop scene invariably the G-funk of Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg, and Los Angeles comes to mind, but to ignore the equally impressive San Francisco bay area scene is a travesty. It was in this environment where Earl Stevens, better known by his stage name E-40, came up in and developed his following. Alongside regional staples such as Too Short, Spice 1, and Ant Banks, E-40 was among the first West Coast rappers to sign with a major label, and scored a Billboard-charting hit record with 1995's In A Major Way. His flamboyant attitude, mixed with a driven, DIY spirit, would lead to further Billboard-charters, as well as collaborations with top-tier names of hip-hop, from California peers like Tupac Shakur, Too Short, and Keak Da Sneak, to underground legends like Tech N9ne, Bun B, and Danny Brown, to modern MCs like 2 Chainz, YG, and Juicy J, to even the company of comedy trio The Lonely Island. While E-40's break into the mainstream came with 1995's In A Major Way, he had recorded on numerous EPs and features, as well as a studio album through his own self-run label Sick Wid It Records. That studio album, 1993's Federal, would also serve as his solo debut, and paint a picture of things to come for the bay area rapper. With it's stark and aggressive sound, over top of beats that sampled classic funk and soul staples like Isaac Hayes, Sly & The Family Stone, and The Ohio Players, Federal put E-40s skills as an MC on full display, as well as promising things in the following years. Not to mention solid guest spots from his fellow Californians B-Legit, Kaveo, Little Bruce, and various others.
$9.99
Maribou State release a 12" with singles Feel Good (feat. Khruangbin) and Turnmills along with a club mix.
$36.99 $39.99
LIMITED ''PEACH SEASON EDITION'' 180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl, Peach-SCENTED gatefold, insert, poster, limited to 7,777. The vinyl package of Call Me By Your Name includes a poster, an insert and the 180 gram records are housed in 2 exclusive printed innersleeves.The is the special Limited Peach Season Edition. The records are peach-coloured and the LP package has a peach scent. 7.777 individually numbered copies are available, but only in Peach Harvest season. Call Me By Your Name, the new film by Luca Guadagnino, is a sensual and transcendent tale of first love, based on the acclaimed novel by André Aciman. Summer of 1983, Northern Italy. An American-Italian is enamored by an American student who comes to study and live with his family. Together they share an unforgettable summer full of music, food, and romance that will forever change them. The film received critical acclaim upon its release, being already positively compared to Brokeback Mountain and Moonlight. Critics praised in particular Chalamet, Hammer and Stuhlbarg's performances, Guadagnino's direction and the screenplay. It will be released in the United States on November 24, 2017. It was released in the U.K on October 27, 2017. Luca Guadagnino wanted the film's music to be connected to Elio, a young pianist who likes to transcribe and adapt pieces in order to get close to Oliver. The music is used to reflect the time, the characters' family, level of education and "the kind of canon they would be a part of". Guadagnino found himself resonating with Sufjan Stevens' lyricism through his work and initially asked Stevens to record an original song. Eventually, Stevens contributed three songs to the soundtrack: "Visions of Gideon", which was used at the end of the film, "Mystery of Love," which was featured in the film's first trailer and a new rendition of "Futile Devices" with piano. Stevens penned the songs by using the script, the book, and the conversations with the director about the characters. It marks Sufjan Stevens' first soundtrack for a feature film. The soundtrack also features songs by Ryuichi Sakamoto, Giorgio Mororder, The Psychedelic Furs and many others.
$24.99
Limited to 1000 units! Special limited edition 12" picture disc to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Trojan Records. Features the best of Trojan Records including Desmond Dekker & The Aces, The Pioneers, Ken Boothe, The Upsetters, John Holt, Susan Cadogan & more!
$37.99
Custom Special Edition Package 140 gram orange vinyl LP housed in a custom two-piece outer box 24 page booklet, saddle stitched Download Card Included The sleeve tells you so much about the process. It’s a picture of a lone figure. Suited up and immersed in interplanetary protective gear, he walks out across unmapped terrain. In the distance, a mountain range towers over the roughly gridded sand he’s striding. This is very much a solo mission – giant steps into the unknown. Inside the helmet, there’s all the uncertainty and madness that such a pursuit brings. That sleeve (designed, as ever, with Mark Farrow), comes wrapped around And Nothing Hurt - Spiritualized’s eighth album, the follow up to 2012’s Sweet Heart, Sweet Light. From the opening lullaby of A Perfect Miracle through to the fading Morse Code at the close of Sail on Through, it painstakingly wraps layer upon layer of gloriously transcendent sound together to create a mesmerizing and cinematic collection of songs. There are points – the thunderous climax of On the Sunshine; the spectral waltz of The Prize; the towering guitar solo on I’m Your Man – where the waves of blissful noise are almost overwhelming, where one can imagine the studio’s speakers vibrating themselves off of the walls. Which is an incredible feat when you discover that the album was conceived and recorded almost entirely by one man – Jason Pierce, AKA J.Spaceman - in an upstairs room in his east London home. Sat in an edit suite in Whitechapel a month or so after finishing recording, Jason talks honestly about the painstaking, frustrating process of creating And Nothing Hurt. “Making this record on my own sent me more mad than anything I’ve done before. We’d been playing these big shows and I really wanted to capture that sound we were making but, without the funds to do, I had to find a way to work within the constraints of what money I had. So I bought a laptop and made it all in a little room in my house.” Whereas bedroom recording is commonplace for a generation of musicians who’ve grown up with horizon-expanding tech, Spiritualized have long used the studio as they would an extra member of the band – as a vital building block in the construction of some of the most cherished records of the modern era. This time would be very different. With no grounding in digital recording, Jason had to learn everything from scratch. “The biggest thing for me was to try to make it sound like a studio session. There are bits that I went to a studio to record – mainly drums and percussion. I mean, there’s no way I’m going to get timpani up my stairs. When I came to terms with how I was going to make the record, I assumed it was going to sound like Lee Perry - all flying in from different angles; all extraordinary and not hi- tech in construction. But I was new to it all, I didn’t have all the short cuts people use when they’re making records – I just sat there for weeks… for months… moving every level up bit by bit just to try to get the sounds right.” For the listener, the nine tracks on And Nothing Hurt effortlessly replicate the scale and power of Spiritualized’s previous releases, whether it’s the sonic blowback of On the Sunshine, the last dime in the jukebox love letter of Let’s Dance or the swell of an imaginary orchestra that seems to lift Damaged towards the heavens as it plays out. “With a bit of trial and lot of error, I found ways of doing something that’s quite simple, if you’ve got the resources. I spent two weeks listening to classical records and strumming the chord that I wanted on my guitar. When I found something to match what I wanted, I’d sample that bit and go for the next chord and try to match that. It took weeks, trying to put together and layer convincing string sounds. But, if I’m honest, all I wanted was for someone to come and play the part and bring their own thing to the record.” One of the biggest influences on the final sound of the record was a series of shows played in 2016 celebrating the (near) 20 th anniversary of the band’s peerless 1997 release Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space. Those shows, played with a fifteen-piece orchestra and a gospel choir, forced Jason to revisit songs that he’d already been working on for years. “Part of the reason for doing those gigs was to inform the songs I’d been working on. Trying to sing convincingly in a little room at home was really difficult. The big shows helped remind myself what it’s like to sing with that kind of backing. I can’t really describe it… when you’re singing with a choir behind you and there’s all this noise coming off the stage, you sing things very differently to how you would A) in a studio or B) sitting on your bed at home recording into a laptop.” Lyrically, And Nothing Hurt touches on thoughts of passing time and acceptance of one’s age – never more beautifully than on Let’s Dance (‘The hour is getting late, they’re putting all the chairs away / they’ve got Big Star on the radio, they’ll let us stay’). “I didn’t want to be fighting against my age; it’s very much about acceptance. And not with any dissatisfaction either – I’m not raging against the inevitable. I spent a lot of time thinking about the way that the songs should hold together, trying to make the narratives make sense rather than just throwing together a couple of lines that rhymed. Let’s Dance was very much a ‘last orders’ kind of song, about grasping at the finality of that moment.” During the making of And Nothing Hurt, Jason kept returning to the thought that this would be the last Spiritualized record – interviews over the last couple of years made it clear that the frustration of trying to replicate the sounds in his head whilst sat on his bed were proving too much. With the record finally finished and a new UK label (Bella Union – Fat Possum continue to release Spiritualized records in the States), does he feel the same way now? “I was quite sincere about that and I still feel like it might be the case. It was such hard work. I found myself going crazy for so long. It’s not like there’s no coming back, I’m fine now… it’s just such a hard thing to do, to make a record like this on your own. It’s almost as if, if I’m not pushing myself to point of madness, it’s not going to be right. And I know it’s going to be like that every time. What’s the definition of madness? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. I kind of do that. I think the biggest goal is to make something that’s worthy of all that time and effort. And the more time and effort, the bigger the goal. I knew I had to make something that was good enough that it should be made. And a massive positive about making the record is that we get to play it live. That’s always the most joyous thing; everyone gets to contribute to the sound, this amazing thing that seems to come right through the roof.” If the last set of Spiritualized gigs helped set the course for how And Nothing Hurt now sounds – alternately intimate, hypnotic, cyclonic and downright spiritual - maybe… just maybe… this next set will encourage Jason to flip open the laptop to press record again. Here’s hoping.
$24.99
Now - Limited to 200 Pressed on Orange Haze Vinyl & Exclusive to FatBeats.com! After nearly two decades out of print on vinyl, Fat Beats has teamed up with The Artifacts to give the group’s groundbreaking debut Between a Rock and Hard Place the reissue treatment it deserves. With production from Redman, Buckwild, T-Ray and other icons of the golden age, the 1994 album – a perfect snapshot of b-boy and graffiti culture in 90’s New York -- immediately catapulted MCs El Da Sensei and Tame One onto the forefront of the city’s exploding scene.
$32.99
Available for the first time on 2 Color Split: Lavender & Tan Like with 1993’s debut Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space), ‘utilizing the natural’ meant creating hip hop that blended jazz with the formidable rap skills of the aforementioned Butterfly, Craig ‘Doodlebug’ Irving and Mary Ann ‘Ladybug Mecca’ Vieira. Unlike that debut, it meant broadening to include guests such as Gang Starr’s Guru, Jeru the Damaja, and Jazzy Joyce.Following the gold-selling commercial success of their debut, they here set out to prove their artistic prowess. This is intelligent, alternative hip hop that sounded like party music. Its lyrics are dense with wit, social commentary and politics – and its original inner sleeve was modeled on the newspaper of the Black Panther movement.Its instrumentation includes sax, vibraphone and flute. Its samples – gathered from global cratedigging trips while touring the first album around the world – included Grant Green, Eddie Harris, Shuggie Otis and jazz-funk pioneer Roy Ayers (whose “We Live in Brooklyn, Baby” became “Borough Check” here). And yet at the same time its beats are infectious and its spirit undeniable.This is an album firmly rooted in Brooklyn. “Growing up hearing and cherishing this album, it created a textured soundscape of a mythical world of rhymes, jazz, breakbeats, culture, art and urban ambiance,” says DJ and fan Mick Boogie in the liner notes. “When I moved to Brooklyn years later, I found that the world I imagined while listening to this classic LP actually really existed…”Though Digable Planets have reunited on occasion since – and though their influence endures in every top-shelf rap act with a jazzy sensibility – the trio parted ways after Blowout Comb, citing that old favorite "creative differences”. Sometimes, the most volatile combinations create the best art.
$32.99
Two decades after the album’s critically-acclaimed release, hip-hop icon Nas teamed up with the National Symphony Orchestra at The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., to stage a symphonic rendition of illmatic, one of the most revered albums in hip-hop history.
$19.99
A true hip-hop anthem is getting the 45 treatment through this deluxe pressing. There’s not much else needs to be said about this Showbiz & A.G./D.I.T.C. Classic. You can finally get a 45 Soul Clap!
$24.99
There are West Coast classics, and then there is Music To Driveby, the third LP from the group that birthed MC Eiht: Compton’s Most Wanted. Although the group started in the late ‘80s with multiple MCs (including Tha Chill and Boom Bam), by 1992 Eight was pulling the group’s vocal weight – supported by DJ Mike T on turntables and production – and even producing and co-producing tracks. Music To Driveby might lack beats-per-minute variety, but to fans that’s not a bad thing. Across the board, this is mid-tempo, super deep, funky hip-hop, made for cars creeping along boulevards across the West and South, and it’s about as good as it gets for such purposes. Just about filler-free, the album struts intensely and with purpose, as Eiht throws tales of Cali street life at fans for an hour straight, almost without a break. This solo marathon is given a respite only once, with Scarface’s guest spot on “N 2 Deep,” an excellent hood roller supported by a soulful guitar lick sampled from Lyn Collins’ “Do Your Thing.” Elsewhere, Eiht rolls alone and intensely, on cuts like the classic smash single “Hood Took Me Under”; the album’s second single and Tim Dog attack “Who’s Fu**ing Who?”; the hometown big-up “Compton 4 Life”; and hustle tales like “Jack Mode” and “I Gots To Get Over.” After this album, Eiht released more classics under his own name, and with similar fan worship. It was the continuation of a legendary career and Music To Driveby still ranks high on anyone’s “West Coast Legends” playlist.
$31.99
25th Anniversary Edition - First ever vinyl reissue housed in a deluxe wide spine jacket with booklet and inner sleeves! Includes liner notes by Larry Mizell Jr. interviewing Ishmael “Butterfly” Butler. At a time when hip-hop was determined to snap your neck, a young, hip trio from Brooklyn (by way of Seattle, Philly, and Brazil) conspired on an uncommonly smooth new sound and freaky way of speak, a titanically chill expression of Black bohemia loaded with jazz idiom and a subversive Marxist bent—and pushed it worldwide via an undeniable crossover hit. Digable Planets’ 1993 debut, Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space), unexpected to all involved, produced a massive radio hit in “Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat)”, which won the 1994 Grammy for Best Rap Performance by Duo or Group. Unduly lumped into an “alternative rap” subgenre they chafed at, the Dig Plans were dismissed by some as one-hit wonders, coming out of nowhere; but the Digable Planets concept, and what became Reachin’, had been in the works for close to five years, as group leader Ishmael “Butterfly” Butler wrote music and soaked up game in multiple cities, navigating the industry of hip-hop’s golden age. In the end, Butler, Mary Anne “Ladybug Mecca” Vieira, and Craig “Doodlebug” Irving came together to create a seamlessly articulated vision of urbane hiphop cool with an uncommonly literary bent that subtly pushed the hip-hop genre’s frames of reference and added breadth to rap music’s burgeoning political philosophy. Drawing on inspiration from Butler’s jazzbo father, the Black Panthers, Jose Luis-Borges, the Last Poets, and Jimi Hendrix, Reachin’ posited a theory of “universal beats”, narrated by three unearthly MC’s that had “split to Earth to resurrect the funk”, assuming curious, arthropodic aliases—a nod to the natural collective action of the insect world. In just four years the crew would record two beloved and ambitious LPs before disbanding. Out of print on wax domestically since 1993, Reachin’ captures one of the last gasps of rap music’s jazzy, upbeat adolescence in the early 90’s—those warm, blissed-out grooves every bit as slick as when they were laid way back when. Put this on, roll up with your crew and bug out again with the insect tribe.
$22.99
An underground classic in every sense of the term, Slum Village's 1998 production Fantastic, Vol. 2 was a breath of fresh air for hip-hop heads when it finally hit shelves in 2000, earning heavy acclaim and artistic clout for the trio of T3, Baatin, and the late production legend J Dilla. Fantastic, Vol. 2 featured vibes and lyrics harkening back to the classic sounds of De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest, smooth and infectious production that would go on to set a blueprint for the 00's arrival of neo soul, and top-shelf guest appearances from Q-Tip, D'Angelo, Busta Rhymes, and many more. Now, upon the 20th anniversary of the album’s completion, Ne'Astra Media Group is proud to bring a whole new collection of long lost tracks from the Fantastic, Vol. 2 sessions to you. Produced between 1996 and 1999, The Lost Scrolls Vol. 2 (Slum Village Edition) features 11 unreleased demos and remixes featuring the classic Slum Village lineup. Tracks that have never previously been heard, and might not have ever seen the light of day otherwise. Featuring a never-before-heard freestyle from J Dilla, a newly discovered remix of the single “Hold Tight” featuring Q-Tip, a long-lost Kurupt-guesting track “Talk About Hoes”, a posthumously discovered Baatin solo cut, and numerous other unearthed gems of underground hip-hop.
$9.99
"Relapse" feat. Traffic b/w various instrumentals, all new music.
$36.99
Plus accompanying limited edition paperback Novella written by Max Sztyber and Leon Vynehall and large poster housed in a hard back box. Includes download code. Following his recent signing to Ninja Tune, Leon Vynehall announces his debut album Nothing Is Still - a record that sees him digging deeper into the family history that has always inspired his most iconic tracks, whilst returning to his own musical roots. Nothing Is Still is, at its core, an album dedicated to Vynehall’s grandparents. Emigrating from a leafy south east U.K. to New York City in the 1960s, their seven-day journey via boat from Southampton to Brooklyn, and the stories that followed, have only truly come to light upon the passing of his grandfather four years ago. “I knew they had lived in the U.S. and heard many anecdotes, but it was only after Pops died and my Nan presented these polaroids of their time there; of her waitressing at the New York Mayor’s Ball in ’66, or Pops with horses on a ranch in Arizona, that she delved deeper into their story, and I started to become overtly inquisitive about it” Vynehall says, following in depth conversations with his Nan to find out as much as he could about this part of his family history that was - in a way that easily resonates with us all - seemingly hidden in plain sight. “I felt the need to document this period for her, and it all just sort of snowballed from there.” The result happened quite naturally, those early conversations going on to form an album of immense scale, physicality and wonder as well as two accompanying elements - a Novella and short films which expand the scope and context of the narrative. This is extended further through the use of visual artist Pol Bury’s ‘George Washington Bridge, NYC’ from his ‘Cinétisation’ collection as the album artwork; with permission granted to Vynehall by Bury's wife - the artwork was created in New York by Bury at the same time as the album’s story takes place. Clearly, that aforementioned feeling of exploration resonates with Vynehall creatively too. Vynehall has released two extended EP's so far, his 2014 breakthrough Music For The Uninvited (3024) - a record inspired by the funk, soul and hip-hop tapes his mum used to play on car journeys which finished the year on a plethora of 'Best of the Year' lists including Pitchfork, FACT and Resident Advisor who called it "one of the most eclectic and rewarding house records you'll hear all year" - and 2016's Rojus EP (Running Back) which saw Vynehall building more layers and broadening the depth of his music to widespread critical acclaim including DJ Mag's 'Album of the Year' and 'Best New Music' from Pitchfork for fan favourite single 'Blush'. On both, he was crafting luscious grooves that were destined to dominate dancefloors. Nothing Is Still however, is defiantly atmospheric and textural, and finds him harnessing his passion for early contemporary minimalist composers such as Gavin Bryars as well as records like Philip Glass’ Koyaanisqatsi and Terry Riley’s A Rainbow In Curved Air. Written and predominantly performed by Vynehall with additional musicians including a ten-piece string section arranged by Amy Langley, Finn Peters (saxophone and flute), and Sam Beste (piano) whom completed the final recording sessions that took place at Konk Studio’s - Nothing Is Still was mixed by Blue May in London before making its own transatlantic flight to New York, where it was mastered at Sterling Sound by Greg Calbi. As well as being respected for the strength of his musical output, Vynehall has a global reputation as a DJ and curator. He has hosted and curated all-night-long residencies worldwide and has become a mainstay at many festivals including Glastonbury, Field Day and Sonar.
$37.99
For years, Seattle producer Sango has been transmuting South American rhythms into dancefloor heaters and aphrodisiac soundscapes, landing beats on projects by Bryson Tiller and Tinashe. His productions have a sui generis knack for combining secular influences and accessibility, a voyage that feels like a walk next door. Today, he’s announced his upcoming album In the Comfort Of. The new release follows up this year’s De Mim, Pra Você. In the Comfort Of will feature appearances from Chicago’s Smino, Xavier Omar (who collaborated with Sango on 2016’s Hours Spent Loving You), Michigan-bred singer JMSN. The album announcement comes coupled with the Jonathan Salmon-directed short film South End, which features In the Comfort Of cut “One More Thing.”
$17.99
Limited edition neon vinyl is limited to 500 units worldwide. Tadd Mullinix, who's best known for the hip-hop he makes as Dabrye and the acid-tinged house and techno under JTC, has added yet another alias to his repertoire, and it might be his most inventive project to date. X-Altera and its debut album, the eponymous X-Altera, were born from a fit of rediscovery. All at once, the Ann Arbor-based producer reconnected with the jungle he produced in the late '90s as half of Soundmurderer & SK-1, revisited the forgotten B-sides of his drum & bass record collection, and fell back in love with the deep, melodic techno of Detroit and London. "What is this going to be pigeonholed as," he wonders. "What are people gonna call this? And what DJs are gonna play this stuff?" Pulling from a number of eras, sounds, and locations, X-Altera may raise questions about its origins and aims, but the music makes perfectly clear that Mullinix had a singular vision.
$21.99
Packaging includes Printed Uncoated Innersleeves Featuring Lyrics, and Bonus Phenakistiscope Insert Made up of seven expansive tracks, Melody's Echo Chamber's second album marries Melody Prochet's breathless soprano to the wildest sonic excursions, always pinned to an emphatic, clattering groove as she delivers her fables of spiritual search and emotional healing in multiple tongues (French, English and Swedish). Bon Voyage is a collaborative record between Prochet and Dungen's Reine Fiske and The Amazing's Fredrik Swahn with Melody sculpting and producing the sessions as well as encouraging the players around her to experiment, often with instruments that might be less familiar to them. It also features special guests Gustav Esjtes and Johan Holmegaard (both from Dungen) and Nicholas Allbrook (Pond). A musical journey of discovery, Bon Voyage delves deep into the collective musical psyche of Melody and her Swedish fellow travellers, who she met one serendipitous summer's afternoon in Angers back in 2015. Prochet describes the members of Stockholm's premier neo-psychedelic overlords Dungen as "soulmates and extreme beings, uncompromisingly intense and sensitive." These kindred souls daydreamed about making music together, and then Prochet took matters into her own hands and moved to Sweden in the winter of 2016 to begin their adventure.Working in the woods of Solna, Melody says: "Swedish nature helped me to breathe and soothed me in times of anxiety. I had a majestic forest with a lake three minutes' walk from my home. Recording sessions were a break in our lives, an escape from our frustrations as young adults, parents, musicians and embittered life jugglers. What transpired was a kind of modern fairytale full of duality: beautiful and disenchanted, happy and painful, internal and external, childish and mature, but also violent and measured. We had no structure and no limits and we stepped out of our comfort zones."Bon Voyage arrives more than five years after Melody's Echo Chamber's debut, and it is the soundtrack to a trip back from the brink, the sound of spiritual renewal, and a pilgrimage to the sonic outer limits.
$19.99
Fat Beats Records is proud to present the ninth installment of Baker’s Dozen, an exclusive vinyl series that shines a light on the best minds of instrumental hip-hop, ambient, and electronic music. Each installment gives one artist carte blanche to capture their signature sound. Every volume’s strictly limited vinyl pressing features one artist and twelve tracks, with the thirteenth track -- the eponymous “baker’s dozen bonus” -- on a flexi disc. The LPs also come equipped with a 5x7” postcard insert that features a photo of the artist’s workspace along with the equipment used in their music-making process. Visually cohesive and packaged with the utmost attention to detail, Baker’s Dozen is a series that speaks up for artists whose craft renders voices superfluous, whose instrumentals alone suffice to make a statement. Since the beginning, my philosophy has always been that perfection is boring, so despite all the changes that have occurred with my equipment and system, that main philosophy remains the same. In the beginning it was all about flipping samples with FL Studio and just my computer keyboard, and over the years, I added the MPD and Masterkey in order to be able to jam out drums live and play keys, which speeds up the workflow. I like the effects on the 404, and there’s a lot of dope ways to integrate my iPad into it, but at the end of the day, it starts with a melody or sample, and I kinda just let the vibe take over. -ELAQUENT
$11.99
We are presently in the post-Marcberg era of rap. After Roc Marciano released his solo opus in spring 2010, a new continuum began which gathered tremendous momentum in 2012 following the release of his Metal Clergy compatriot Ka’s Grief Pedigree and Roc’s amazingly concise sophomore effort Reloaded. Subsequently, a divergent path opened in modern rap heavily influenced by the sonics, tone, and aesthetic of those three projects. Since then, Roc Marciano has released a critically acclaimed producer album Marci Beaucoup, bookended by the release of his project The Pimpire Strikes Back in multiple formats. In the years since this string of releases, a new crop of emcees and producers emerged heavily inspired and influenced by Roc’s oeuvre while many others’ careers have been left doing the running man in their wave. With multiple modern rap classics already under his Ferragamo belt, last year Roc Marciano liberated the first half of his two part project titled Rosebudd’s Revenge. If the initial offering showcased Marc reestablishing himself as the innovator of the present rap wave then RR2 - the Bitter Dose will cement Roc Marciano’s status as its linchpin. From the opening bars of “Respected” to when “Power” finally fades out he fashions another top to bottom high end sonic experience that will be both envied and emulated for years to come while he administers a double dose of pimpin’. Production on RR2: The Bitter Dose is handled by Roc Marciano in addition to Animoss (Arch Druids) (on “Bohemian Grove” & “Happy Endings”), Don Cee (Arch Druids) (on “C.V.S” & “Major League”) and Element) (on “Respected” & “67 Lobby”). Knowledge The Pirate appears on both “Bohemian Grove” and “Major League” while Action Bronson contributes a verse to “Corniche.” Whether it comes to hard bars, slick talk or hustler wisdom, Roc Marciano is unmatched. The Bitter Dose is nothing more than an American master lecturing a captive audience. It’s a guidebook on how to manipulate the English language and convey ideas and concepts and visuals that will evoke a wide range of emotions in listeners. The wait is over. Thank God for Roc Marci.
$14.99
The producer’s own mixes – recently rediscovered – of his seminal EP, presented in the original issued and alternate sequence. Contains a 2nd instrumental disc. Extensive liner notes and unpublished photos. When Ruff Draft saw its initial release in 2003, J Dilla possessed production skills on par with anyone in hip-hop – technically and creatively. “At the top of his game,” says longtime friend and collaborator, Karriem Riggins. After years of building while modestly deferring to others of both greater and lesser notoriety, Dilla finally completed the first solo endeavor on his own label, entirely on his own terms. Prior to recording the EP, Dilla found himself at a crossroads. Estranged from his label, MCA, and separated from the mother of his youngest daughter, frustration abounded both personally and professionally. Dilla spent parts of 2002 and 2003 working on an album for MCA that featured his rapping over contributions from other producers with whom he had connected and whose music he respected. At the time, he was known primarily for his beats, yet reviled for his MCing by most anyone not from his hometown of Detroit. The project was to be an intentional freak of the industry. The project would go on to spur his collaborative album with Madlib, Jaylib, and would first showcase the template that he would take to his greatest heights with 2006’s Donuts. The Stones Throw reissue of Ruff Draft from 2008 featured remixes of the songs from the album, done without Dilla’s involvement. This version of the album takes Dilla’s recently discovered mixes of the album and restores his vision for the project. “Straight from the mothafuckin’ cassette,” as he phrased the sound he was going for on the EP’s intro. The CD issue is buttressed by unreleased tracks and includes the music from the EP as it was originally released, the alternate version that Dilla had for the project and complete instrumentals. Author Ronnie Reese expands upon his original liner notes to further tell Dilla’s story, in a booklet complete with never before published photographs from the Ruff Draft photo session. This CD issue features first Dilla’s original sequence of the EP and then presents Dilla’s alternate sequence, with tracks unreleased in 2003, as well as instrumentals. Author Ronnie Reese expansively details Dilla’s trajectory at this crucial point in his career, in a booklet complete with never before published photographs from the Ruff Draft photo session. Ruff Draft, like The Diary, sees release on the Pay Jay, the official imprint of the Estate of James Yancey, founded on behalf of Maureen “Ma Dukes” Yancey, John “Illa J” Yancey, Monica and Ty-monae Whitlow, Joylette Hunter and Ja’mya Yancey.
$10.99
Features production by Lord Finesse, Alchemist, Diamond D, Ahmed, Ray West and MORE! Guest vocals by Diamond D, A Bless, Thirstin Howl The 3rd and MORE! 5 BONUS TRACKS. A.G. returns with all-start cast, featuring the likes of Diamond D, Lord Finesse, Alchemist and more. For this album, he’s on his a-game, from beginning to end. Touching on topics from the hip hop biz, street tales and political hypocrisy. The Taste Of AMBrosia is a full meal serving for mature rap devotees who’ve grown tired of contemporary rhymesayer laziness. Joined by guests including Diamond D, A-Bless and Thirstin Howl III, A.G. backs up his claim that he is ill enough to paint his own portrait, and illustrates and vision of rap immortality that hardcore heads and fellow legacy MCs alike can worship eternally.
$9.99
Twenty-eight years ago, pissed-off twelve-year-olds around the universe discovered a new planet, a Black Planet. Public Enemy’s aggressive, Benihana beats and incendiary lyrics instilled fear among parents and teachers everywhere, even in the border town of Laredo, Texas, home of the future founders of the Latin-Funk-Soul-Breaks super group, Brownout. The band’s sixth full-length album (out May 25th) Fear of a Brown Planet is a musical manifesto inspired by Public Enemy’s music and revolutionary spirit. Chuck D., the Bomb Squad, Flava Flav and the rest of the P.E. posse couldn’t possibly have expected that their golden-era hip hop albums would sow the seeds for countless Public Enemy sleeper cells, one that would emerge nearly three decades later in Austin, Texas. Greg Gonzalez (bass) remembers a kid back in junior high hipped him to the fact that Public Enemy’s “Bring the Noise” is built on James Brown samples, while a teenaged Beto Martinez (guitar) alternated between metal and hip-hop in his walk-man, and Adrian Quesada (guitar/keys) remembers falling in love with Public Enemy’s sound at an early age. “When I got into Hip hop, I was looking for this aggressive outlet . . . and I didn’t even understand what they were pissed off about, because I was twelve and lived in Laredo . . . but I loved it and I felt angry along with them.” Joseph Abajian (Fat Beats’ owner) must have sensed the deep hip-hop well lying beneath the versatile band’s Latin-Funk veneer. “I thought their sound would work covering Public Enemy songs,” Abajian says, and, “it was good to know they were P.E. fans . . . We came up with a track listing and they went to work.” Despite the band’s eagerness to work on new original material (an album of original songs is slated for next year), they couldn’t pass up the opportunity to pay homage to this iconic and influential posse. Translating sample-based music to a live band turned out to be more of a challenge than they anticipated. Adrian tried to get inside the Bomb Squad’s [Public Enemy’s producers/beat-making team] head in order to find the inspiration to reinterpret P.E.’s songs: “imagine the Bomb Squad going back in time and getting the J.B.s [James Brown’s funky backing band] in the studio and setting up a couple analog synths and then playing those songs.” While some songs closely follow the original musical blueprint, others use the source breakbeats as jumping-off points later sweetened by Trombonist Mark “Speedy” Gonzales’ horn arrangements, synth wizardry courtesy of friend-of-the-band Peter Stopschinski, and DJ Trackstar’s turntable scratches. But don’t listen expecting to hear paint-by-numbers recreations of classic Public Enemy jams. “Our approach is never in the tribute sense,” Adrian explains. “We’ve always taken it and made it our own, whether it’s the Brown Sabbath thing or this Public Enemy thing.” Coming off numerous tours as Brown Sabbath and even a stint backing the late legend Prince, Brownout is arguably the tightest and funkiest band on the road today and they’re psyched to bring this revolutionary music to the people. For a band without an overt political agenda, they collectively couldn’t resist the opportunity to play this music live, especially now. “If there’s any way that we can use the already political and protest nature [of P.E.’s music], we would like to try,” Beto says. “The album’s title, Fear of Brown Planet is definitely a relevant idea today and we’re not afraid to put it out there, because we want to speak out.” By reinterpreting these hip hop classics in their unique style and channeling the spirit of Public Enemy that first echoed around the world and captured their imaginations all those years ago, Brownout is doing exactly that.
$14.99
A staple of the modern underground hip-hop scene, Queens rapper Meyhem Lauren owes much of his sound to that of the halcyon days of the 90s East Coast scene. Over the years Meyhem Lauren has worked alongside veterans and revered figures as DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill, Madlib, Freddie Gibbs, Czarface, Sean Price, Roc Marciano, J-Love, and his childhood friend Action Bronson, with whom he frequently appears in the Vice TV program Fuck, That's Delicious. Now he and producer and frequent collaborator Harry Fraud have teamed up to release Glass, their nine-track collaboration and instant classic. Glass showcases Meyhem Lauren at his best, with production by Harry Fraud and features from the likes of Action Bronson, Westside Gunn, Conway, Big Body Bes, and Hologram, every track on Glass will be in heavy rotation on your playlists.
$14.99
Features guest appearances by Hus KingPin, Bad Lucc, Phil The Agony, Marvelous Mag, and more! The brand new album from CA native Planet Asia, formerly of the duo Cali Agents and a collaborator with everyone from Linkin Park to Wu-Tang member Ghostface Killah! 16 stellar tracks themed around the iconic figure of Mansa Musa, 13th century emperor of the West African Mali Empire and widely regarded as the richest man who ever lived!
$16.99
New album from Royce, his most personal album to date.
$12.99
The sophomore solo album by Phonte (of Little Brother and The Foreign Exchange).
$12.99
The producer’s own mixes – recently rediscovered – of his seminal EP, expanded with bonus tracks now available in a collectible cassette edition. When Ruff Draft saw its initial release in 2003, J Dilla possessed production skills on par with anyone in hip-hop – technically and creatively. “At the top of his game,” says longtime friend and collaborator, Karriem Riggins. After years of building while modestly deferring to others of both greater and lesser notoriety, Dilla finally completed the first solo endeavor on his own label, entirely on his own terms. The significance of such an autonomous success often gets overlooked, and partly accounts for why Ruff Draft is one of the lesser-referenced entries in Dilla’s oeuvre. “It’s a mysterious little project,” says his mother, Maureen Yancey. “But out of his entire career, that was the happiest time.” Prior to recording the EP, Dilla found himself at a crossroads. Estranged from his label, MCA, and separated from the mother of his youngest daughter, frustration abounded both personally and professionally. Dilla spent parts of 2002 and 2003 working on an album for MCA that featured his rapping over contributions from other producers with whom he had connected and whose music he respected. At the time, he was known primarily for his beats, yet reviled for his MCing by most anyone not from his hometown of Detroit. The project was to be an intentional freak of the industry. The project would go on to spur his collaborative album with Madlib, Jaylib, and would first showcase the template that he would take to his greatest heights with 2006’s Donuts. The Stones Throw reissue of Ruff Draft from 2008 featured remixes of the songs from the album, done without Dilla’s involvement. This version of the album takes Dilla’s recently discovered mixes of the album and restores his vision for the project. “Straight from the mothafuckin’ cassette,” as he phrased the sound he was going for on the EP’s intro.
$7.99
Written largely in New York between summer 2016 and winter 2017, Josh Tillman’s fourth Father John Misty LP, God’s Favorite Customer, reflects on the experience of being caught between the vertigo of heartbreak and the manic throes of freedom. God’s Favorite Customer reveals a bittersweetness and directness in Tillman’s songwriting, without sacrificing any of his wit or taste for the absurd. From “Mr. Tillman,” where he trains his lens on his own misadventure, to the cavernous pain of estrangement in “Please Don’t Die,” Tillman plays with perspective throughout to alternatingly hilarious and devastating effect. “We’re Only People (And There’s Not Much Anyone Can Do About That)” is a meditation on our inner lives and the limitations we experience in our attempts to give and receive love. It stands in solidarity with the title track, which examines the ironic relationship between forgiveness and sin. Together, these are songs that demand to know either real love or what comes after, and as the album progresses, that entreaty leads to discovering the latter’s true stakes. God's Favorite Customer was produced by Tillman and recorded with Jonathan Rado (Foxygen), Dave Cerminara (Jonathan Wilson, Foster the People, Conor Oberst), and Trevor Spencer (FJM). The album features contributions from Haxan Cloak, Natalie Mering of Weyes Blood, longtime collaborator Jonathan Wilson, and members of Misty’s touring band.
$9.99
All Composed by Daedelusexcept:Quest I('m) On additional piano by Echo Go Away A Metallick Taste trombone by Jonah Levine Collective Pull Through bass and slap bass by Goodnight Cody Carousel vocal and lyric by Sara Z By A Thread keyboards, synths, mellotron, and composition by Niels Broos with additional trombone by Jonah Levine Collective
$9.99
Atlantic Records and All Money In Records have announced the long awaited studio debut album from rapper Nipsey Hussle.
Sold Out - $9.99
Buffalo, NY rapper Westside Gunn is one of hip-hop’s most exciting new stars, attracting fans and acclaim for his unique voice, exquisitely gritty wordplay, and minimalist, soul-drenched production. Mr. Green is a renowned hip-hop producer who has crafted tracks for the likes of Jedi Mind Tricks, Snoop Doog, A$AP Ferg, The Roots, Freddie Gibbs, KRS-One, Bodega Bamz, R.A. The Rugged Man, Deniro Farrar, Raz Fresco, and many more. Now, the two artists are joining forces for a new collaborative EP, FLYGOD Is Good… All The Time. While this is their first time working together, the chemistry is obvious, and the respect is mutual. “Westside Gunn is incredible, a true mastermind,” says Mr. Green. “He has this sound that is completely one-of-a-kind, just gives you that indescribable feeling we are all looking for in hip-hop these days.” Mixed and mastered by legendary engineer Eddie Sancho (known for his work with Gang Starr, Jay-Z, Nas, The Notorious B.I.G., Alchemist, M.O.P., Dilated Peoples, and many more), the EP showcases some of the best work to date from both Green and Gunn. “This is a true WSG art piece,” says Westside Gunn. “Everything I do is under a microscope, so it gotta be A1.”
$7.99
7 is our 7th full-length record. At its release, we will have been a band for over 13 years. We have now written and released a total of 77 songs together. Throughout the process of recording 7, our goal was rebirth and rejuvenation. We wanted to rethink old methods and shed some self-imposed limitations. In the past, we often limited our writing to parts that we could perform live. On 7, we decided to follow whatever came naturally. As a result, there are some songs with no guitar, and some without keyboard. There are songs with layers and production that we could never recreate live, and that is exciting to us. Basically, we let our creative moods, instead of instrumentation, dictate the album’s feel. For 7, we built a "home" studio, and began all of the songs there. Whenever we had a group of 3-4 songs that we were excited about, we would go to a “proper” recording studio and finish recording them there, in the process shortening the amount of time between the original idea and the finished song (of the album’s 11 songs, 8 were finished at Carriage House in Stamford, CT and 2 at Palmetto Studio in Los Angeles). 7 didn’t have a producer in the traditional sense. James Barone, who became our live drummer in 2016, played on the entire record. We also worked with Sonic Boom (Peter Kember), who became a great force on this record by shedding conventions and helping to keep the songs alive, fresh and protected from the destructive forces of recording-studio over-production/over-perfection. The societal insanity of 2016-17 was also deeply influential, as it must be for most artists these days. Looking back, there is quite a bit of chaos in these songs, and a pervasive dark field that we had little control over. The discussions surrounding women’s issues were a constant source of inspiration and questioning. The energy, lyrics and moods of much of this record grew from ruminations on the roles, pressures and conditions that our society places on women, past and present. The twisted double edge of glamour, with its perils and perfect moments, was an endless source. In a more general sense, we are interested by the human mind's (and nature’s) tendency to create forces equal and opposite to those present. Thematically, this record often deals with the beauty that arises in dealing with darkness; the empathy and love that grows from collective trauma; the place one reaches when they accept rather than deny. While the title is simply a number that represents our seventh record, the number 7 does represent some interesting connections in numerology. 1 and 7 have always shared a common look, so 7 feels like the perfect step in the sequence to act as a restart or “semi-first.” Most early religions also had a fascination with 7 as being the highest level of spirituality, as in "Seventh Heaven.” At our best creative moments, we felt we were channeling some kind of heavy truth, and we sincerely hope the listeners will feel that. Much Love,Beach House
$9.99
These lost joints were put together with an MPC2000 + found records + the occasional Casio keyboard + VHS tapes. Produced 2000-2004 @ Mom’s, Cincinnati + 11th Ave, Oakland. Compiled, restored, reanimated 2012-2018 @ Burnco, Berkeley. - Odd Nosdam Filled to the brim with released albums and content left on the cutting room floor, Odd Nosdam's body of work is abundant and revelatory. Encompassing a legacy of sonic deconstruction and revitalization, the sounds of Nosdam have reverberated through underground classics that go back over two decades. This includes iconic indie releases by Greenthink, cLOUDDEAD, Reaching Quiet, Sole, Sage Francis, Mike Patton's Peeping Tom, Boards of Canada, Jel, and so many more. Nosdam's solo career has also been approached with dignity and unique expression, launching new content while excavating forgotten material created around his most beloved works. Odd Nosdam's forthcoming 40-track collection Lost Wigs of Ohio is another step in this unearthing process, rediscovering, restoring, and compiling never before heard music. This lost content, crafted between 2000 and 2004, includes versions and leftovers from his first Anticon solo album No More Wig For Ohio, cLOUDDEAD's catalog, and the one-off Why? collaboration, Reaching Quiet. The Lost Wigs of Ohio collection will release on June 1, 2018 through Nosdam's imprint Burnco Recs. Availability will be seen across digital platforms worldwide, along with a run of limited edition cassettes. Over the course of the lengthy archive release Lost Wigs of Ohio, the thick haze of Nosdam's Tascam 8-track and MPC2000 are mutated to frequencies all his own, drawing on the smoldering state of heavy drums and sidewinding harmonies he's synonymous with. The source material for Lost Wigs of Ohio was mostly extracted from dusty DAT tapes and old hard drives, bringing forth his sonic contribution to Anticon's foundation. Lost Wigs of Ohio is much more than a snapshot and serves as a raw schematic to the origins of a movement that is still pacing onward in today's underground and mainstream music communities. Lost Wigs of Ohio is Odd Nosdam at his most fundamental and raw state, pulled together to further establish his mark on modern experimental music.
