When The Silence Is Gone – Five Deez.
from Kommunicator on Rapster (2006).
Faceless (Induce Remix) – Five Deez
from the Vapors Project 12″ on Counterflow (2001).

Note: I was inspired to write a series of posts about Five Deez and their producer Fat Jon recently, so this will be a multi-part post. The Five Deez stuff will be here over the next week or so and so as not to clog up site from my fellow posters the Fat Jon posts will be over at www.criticalbeatdowns.com. Please use the comments to let me know if this works well or not.

Last of the Five Deez posts features my favorite track from their latest album Kommunicator, “When The Silence Is Gone.” The third album brings the Deez to their third label, but they are still consistently inventive and pumping out the good music. I cannot say that album comes across as a completely different from Koolmotor and Kinkynasti, as they once promised, but instead is a really nice mingling of the two. “Silence” is another multi-part Fat Jon production workout with the rapper waiting until 1.5 minutes passes to jump into a song that is sleigh bells, dubby/echoey/filtered vocals, and marching band drums in equal measure. Then boom, we get a mid-point transition to a somewhat sparse bass pulse and snare percussion backing and piling up vocals while the sleigh bells continue. Commercial hip hop this is not. However, the album also features really fun, bouncey tracks like “So Good” and “BMW” that sound like they could have been made by pre-bodybuilder Timbaland. The album isn’t as uniform in its sound as either of their first two efforts, but it is one of my favorite albums so far this year (in what is turning out to be a pretty tight field).

Boom, Fat Jon style abrupt transition…I also put up a really excellent remix of Five Deez’s track “Faceless” from back in the Koolmotor days by the underhyped Induce. He left the vocals alone for the most part other than some filtering (interesting choice since the beat is so organic), but put together a nice upright bass and funk drums beat. Induce’s intricate drum programming is showcased in the long outro breakdown that begins at 4 minutes with the rather obvious “let the drummer get wicked” lead in.

The Emotions: Blind Alley and If You Think It
From: Untouched [Volt/Stax, 1971]

I. Love. Breaks.

Ok, while you’re still reeling from that shocking news let me expand a little. I love breaks partly because when they work on a rap record there’s very little that’s as rewarding or as invigorating in music. I also love them because in the early (and in today’s case, later) years of my digging it encouraged me to seek out artists I may otherwise ignore and dismiss – before discovering that their music was far more than a five second sample. While I try to avoid posting songs based purely on their use as samples it does feature greatly in my record knowledge.

So with that out the way, I’ve got some gorgeous soul for you today in the form of female vocal group The Emotions. Comprising of three sisters the group have had a career spanning five decades moving from r&b to soul to disco to beyond. It’s really not worth expanding on it too much here but you can read all about it on their official site.

Both song are from The Emotions 1971 album Untouched which is notoriously hard to pick up on vinyl and both songs were introduced to me via breaks. While the album was featured by Oliver on Soulsides a while ago if you haven’t heard them you need to experience this. Blind Alley has one of the most recognisable breaks in the business, probably most famously used for Big Daddy Kane. The song itself is a lovely piece of summer soul with those gorgeous keys and horn arrangement.

If You Think is a classic song notably used very cleverly by RZA for Verbal Intercourse (how the hell did he come up with that?). The song itself is absolutely 100% stunning. A proper piece of energised soul, the track oozes that kind of impatient, vibrant yearning that just floors me everytime. Everything about this song, from the arrangement, to the vocals, to the strings, to the harmonies to the horn blasts is just pure perfection. I love breaks, but I love the originals ever more.

McDonald & Giles: Flight Of The Ibis and Tomorrow’s People
From: McDonald & Giles [Cotillion, 1971]

A change of pace today as we rock out to the proggish tones of King Crimson……… Well kinda anyway. McDonald & Giles were part of the original line up of the band but split from the group after the release of their debut album due to various cited reasons (one common rumour being that the duo fell in love on tour with the women pictured on the cover – can’t blame McDonald then, she’s rather fine).

While it would have been interesting to see where the band would have gone had McDonald and Giles stayed with them I can’t say I’m disappointed with the split when the resulting album is as beautiful as this. While undoubtedly based in prog rock the album feels incredibly sunny and uplifting compared to most comparative records of the time, the duo ensuing the darker noise of their contemporaries for something of a more positive folk laden nature.

Although the album is a break diggers wet dream the first track I have for you is more melody, less beat heavy. Flight Of The Ibis isn’t actually half as proggy as the title suggests. Instead the track offers a Beatle-esque vocal over some crisp drums and gorgeous piano and harpsichord work. This tune just makes me want to lie on my back in a grassy field and watch the clouds roll by.

Tomorrow’s People is a break heavy banger of a song. Starting unexpectedly with a mixture of horns the track shows clear signs of it’s original composition as a Crimson track with it’s electronic vocals and more psychedelic overtones. What kills me about this song is that 2 minutes in the track breaks down into a funk groove and never really leaves it afterwards, with the drums and bongos coming hard as various instruments float in over the bass riff before the track literally comes to a stop and reawakens with funk and vocals united together. Funky prog my friends, funky prog.

Funky (Extended Version) – Five Deez
from 12″, also on Kinkynasti on K7! (2003).

Pretty Pussy Kitty Kat – Fat Jon as Maurice Galactica f/ Five Deez
from Humanoid Erotica on Counterflow (2001).

Note: I was inspired to write a series of posts about Five Deez and their producer Fat Jon recently, so this will be a multi-part post. The Five Deez stuff will be here over the next week or so and so as not to clog up site from my fellow posters the Fat Jon posts will be over at www.criticalbeatdowns.com. Please use the comments to let me know if this works well or not.

In 2003 Five Deez released their second studio album Kinkynasti. Since their classic debut Koolmotor, they had switched labels (from Counterflow to K7!), Fat Jon had moved to Berlin and recorded a much-maligned album with Pole, and (I believe) Pase Rock had released a solo album. And they made an album that other than sharing an inventive, try-anything attitude with Koolmotor left many of their fans surprised at the drastic shift in styles. The Deez were clear in interviews at the time that they wanted to make an album completely different from Koolmotor and that their efforts this time were aimed at creating a “dance record.” One listen to the first single off the album, “Funky,” shows how well they’ve done in this regard. The BPMs are pushed way up for a 4-on-the-floor hip-house style track and the crew gets to work on their fast rap stylings. While the rest of the album isn’t all clearly pulsing booty-shakers like “Funky,” it never has the filtered, lush feel of Koolmotor either. I’ll admit that I was personally disappointed that they didn’t put together Koolmotor 2, but I definitely admire a group that is willing to challenge its hard won fan base by switching up their style significantly after only one album. Common and The Roots know a little something about how unwilling a lot of hip hop fans can be to challenge their aural palette. This is the extended version of “Funky” from the 12″ which is just the album version, plus another 2+ minutes of the instrumental on the end. That’s nice because you get to focus on Fat Jon’s layered, clear production (check the sleigh bells).

The second track I’ve put up today “Pretty Pussy Kitty Kat” is referenced in Fat Jon’s verse on “Funky.” Fat Jon’s new style of crisp, clear production had been showcased previously on his solo album on Counterflow under the guise of Maurice Galactica: Humanoid Erotica, which featured the “Pretty Pussy” track. Essentially “PPKK” is a Five Deez track since it features the group on vocals over production by Fat Jon, even if it is technically on one of FJ’s solo records. Eschewing traditional hip hop song structure again, we get 2 solid minutes of dance tempo beats before the rappers show up. In those 2 minutes, we get intro scratches over some popping dance-tempo beats with a beautiful flute sample and a horn sample that Fat Jon just teases us with and then leaves out of the rest of the song. The beat morphs a little for the vocal section with some spare piano notes and viciously mellow bassline at the close. Out from their blunted beat beginnings the Five Deez showcased a great feel for organic dance style tracks with a more technical style of production. Evidently it didn’t hit too well because Kinkynasti and the “Funky” singles have been a mainstay in the dollar bins for a while now around here, but I’m feeling it way more today than I was in 2003, so maybe heads just weren’t ready yet.

The Chambers Brothers: Uptown and Time Has Come Today
From: The Time Has Come [Columbia, 1967]

Back with some more Chambers Brothers today with The Time Has Come. The album that thrust the band into the spotlight, the music is less insanely out there than their later The New Generation but is equally funky and probably a more consistent album overall.

The songs on this longplayer move from R&B covers to more psychedelic funk outs showcasing the indisputable talents of these guys and the ease with which they moved from their folky upbringing to a heavier sound.

Uptown is a sweet as hell uptempo track with a vibrancy and energy which still floors the listener. A tribute to Harlem the track has a definite JB feel to it as the instrumentation builds up with trumpet parps and a sweet piano melody. Coming off more like a live performance than a studio recording it’s a definite pick me up song.

Time Has Come Today is still probably the most famous of all The Chambers Brothers recordings, an extended 11 minute jam that set in place many of the standards in psychedelic funk as the band work on making your soul “psychedelicised”. Starting with a sound somewhat reminiscent of the Rolling Stones with heavy guitars, crashing drums and lots and lots of cowbell the track goes places Jagger, Richards & Co didn’t even consider till a few years later. The song really kicks in to psychedelic mode around the three minute mark as it slows to a stuttering halt before building again with the bassiest of breaks, various guitar riffs surfacing in the mix including, if I’m not mistaken, the little drummer boy. The track then goes into overdrive for the final four minutes, ominous laughter marking the point of no return. Like a mini album in it’s own right this tune is totally insane and utterly essential.

This album has been rereleased on CD with additional bonus tracks and is worth picking up alone for the gorgeous ballad So Tired. Don’t hesitate.

What Happens (Remix) – Five Deez
from the compilation Slow Children Playing (2002).
Time In Night – Five Deez
from the Sexual For Elizabeth 12″ on Counterflow (2001).

Note: I was inspired to write a series of posts about Five Deez and their producer Fat Jon recently, so this will be a multi-part post. The Five Deez stuff will be here over the next week or so and so as not to clog up site from my fellow posters the Fat Jon posts will be over at www.criticalbeatdowns.com. Please use the comments to let me know if this works well or not.

Made up of producer Fat Jon The Ample Soul Physician (now that’s a name) and rappers Pase Rock, Kyle David, and Sonic, Five Deez has been putting out innovative hip hop since the mid-90s. Originally teaming up in Cincinnati, OH, they’ve managed to put out a lot of great material in a remarkably varied set of styles. Like most people I first heard of the Deez from their top notch debut album Koolmotor, which came out on Counterflow in 2001. A brilliant collection of “more dusty than digital” hip hop beats with some innovative rapping by the various members, Koolmotor is an undeniable classic and probably familiar to most of you already.

After the succes of Koolmotor a compilation of earlier Five Deez work was put out called Slow Children Playing. The first track up today “What Happens (Remix)” is from that compilation. This track has the traditional chorus-hook structure and a simple but crunchy boom bap beat. Fat Jon lays some very pretty piano over the beats, which is something he is fantastic at. The vocals are pushed up front in the mix, which is also common in hip hop, but all of these traditional elements stop being restrictive to Five Deez even by their debut. So while this track is very good, it only barely hints at the inventiveness that is to come from the group. One hint of their willingness to play loose with a lot of the traditional restrictions is the slight imbalance in the stereo mix of the vocals which creates a nice side to side effect and extra oomph.

The next track “Time Is Night” is a Fat Jon instrumental from the B-side of their second single from Koolmotor “Sexual For Elizabeth.” Popping drums along with a lush and airy soundscape form a backdrop for a very emotional female vocal sample. Fat Jon’s feel for creating an instrumental that stands alone instead of begging for a rapper over it cannot be missed. The A-side “Sexual for Elizabeth” already shows how left-field the group is willing to be giving shine to Japan/Bay Area rapper Shing02 to kick a verse in Japanese after nearly three minutes of the track has gone by without rapping, just the beat and some looped singing.

An added benefit with these early Five Deez releases on Counterflow is that, like most of the other records coming from that label, they have ridiculously great cover art.

Lupe Fiasco: Get Down, Switch, Much More
from Fahrenheit 1-15 vol. 2/3 (2006)

West Side Chicago’s Lupe Fiasco is fighting an uphill battle. Rap’s landscape seems to have an open position for an emcee with Native Tounges style appeal, and Lupe seems to be making a bid to fill it. Walking the line between “conscious” rap and street rap has been attempted countless times, and with very few exceptions the music sounds more like a job application cover letter than a rap tape (“Other rappers say this, but I say that,” “I’m going to change the game, I’m going to do such and such and such” etc.). Other rappers have the skill and exuberance but are so squeeky clean you almost can’t call it rap music (ask yourself, would my mom hate this?). If anything, Lupe Fiasco tends towards the latter pitfall on his second mixtape, the next in the Fahrenheit 1/15 series. Luckily Lupe has the good sense to keep the subject matter a bit sticky and use a couple red flag words. Throw in a couple Paul Wall beats and you can safely keep this tape out of the mini-van.

And the rhymes are hot. Lupe can ride a beat with the best of them, and he sounds more comfortable than Kanye (to whom comparisons will be inevitable, not just due to the Chi-town connection, or the fact that Fiasco’s highest profile appearance has been on a West track) expounding on the Jigga cadence that is the sound of current rap. Lupe runs rhyme circles over Nas’ “Get Down,” and gets even more dexterous over “Still Tippin.” Check the second verse where he goes from switching rhyme styles every four bars to switching subject matter (a trick which demands multiple rewinds).

So the question is, will Fiasco’s music be something rap kids are embarrased to like a couple years down the road? It will probably take a full album to tell, though the bright-as-Sunny-Delight debut single “Kick Push” doesn’t bode too well for longevity. Hopefully Fiasco has enough finesse to keep things a bit dirty without sacrificing his aesthetic.

Snippet: Play

Freez – “A.E.I.O.U.”
Freez – “Pop Goes My Love”
Arthur Baker – “Breaker’s Revenge”
Liquid Liquid – “Cavern”
Babe Ruth – “The Mexican”

Snippet: Play

Double Dee and Stein-Ski – “Lesson Three (History of Hip-Hop)” and “Lesson Two (James Brown Mix)”
World’s Famous Supreme Team – “Hey DJ”

Long Island has a low crime-rate, decent fish and a losing NHL franchise. And occasionally, the island state is home to DJ Smooth Denali. This cat has been on and off in the party DJ game since `84 and rolls steady with the Violator DJs. Denali played LeBron and Carmelo’s draft party, co-hosts a radio show with J-Love (look out for those Hidden Dart mixes) and had 19,000 sweaty bodies in the Nassau Coliseum; thick resume status.

A smart woman at a finer game shop suggested that Hip-Hop Classics Volume 8 be included in the series and with a quick track listing check her suggestion paid off.

First off is Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force then Kranz’s “Din Daa Daa,” which has that Friday night `80s electro-swagga sound that grabs the ears; then Freez’s “A.E.I.O.U.” Next is Freez’s “Pop Goes My Love” – Friday night just woke up – and soon enough Liquid Liquid’s “Cavern” educates Todd Smith fans. Babe Ruth’s “The Mexican” is a hot selection and perfect bridge to Bambaataa &The Soul Sonic Force’s “Planet Rock.” (Writer’s note: The Making of Planet Rock = unexpected.)

Including Stein-Ski and Double Dee’s Lessons 2 and 3 (read the Hugo Currie’s interview with Steve Stein) are major. Stein-Ski and Double Dee’s Lessons provided a style for Cut Chemist and Andy Smith-type DJs that is mimick to this day. World’s Famous Supreme Team’s “Hey DJ” is a piece of 1984. Malcolm McLaren’s idea to make World’s Famous Supreme Team created a footnote in rap history. Despite a background as the Sex Pistol’s manager, McLaren was able to scout talent and organized a OK effort in `86 with, the Rappin’ LP.

Hip-Hop Classics Volume 8 makes `80s rap history fun and smart women enjoy it; buy it here.

The Chambers Brothers: New Generation and When The Evening Comes
From: New Generation [Columbia, 1970]

Some monstrous tracks for you today with the psychedelic funk of The Chambers Brothers. By some bizarre, almost unheard of, occurrence in the world of soul the Chambers Brothers were actual real siblings, growing up performing gospel and folk songs in the fifties and early sixties. However, the addition of drummer Brian Keenan propelled them into the funk spotlight and also rectified the name anomaly.

The New Generation is one of the most out there of all the brothers late sixties/early seventies releases, featuring extended jams and lots and lots of fuzzy guitar. These days the album is most famous for featuring the ATCQ sampled Funky but you can pick this up on numerous compilations so I thought I’d focus on two of the lesser known tracks (that’s right, I’m fronting with my rares snobbery).

The title song is an absolute behemoth of a composition which I give to you today in it’s full 12 minute version. Alto vocals kick off the song over stuttering bongos before the beat kicks in and what a beat – I dare you not to want to get up and dance. One of the most spasm friendly beginnings to a song ever, I want to hear this played in a club and i want to go absolutely mental to it on the dancefloor. The band literally throw everything at this extended jam as the tempo builds and builds before a mere two minutes in the track turns into a blues/psych/funk roller, distorted guitars playing over the ever more hectic drums as the vocals swerve in and out of the mix. There are few songs that can leave you feeling exhausted without ever leaving your seat but this is undoubtedly one of them.

When The Evening Comes is the band’s grandiose ballad. Starting proceedings with an understated intro of sunny guitar, the track takes a turn towards the mournful as deep gravelly vocals, strings and horns join the mix. From the first violin you can tell this is an epic ballad as the theme slowly repeats louder and louder, giving the song a late period Rotary Connection feel. I truly adore the way the track builds layer upon layer upon layer as the music swells and swells to the climax, Barry-esque strings and gospel choir shimmering in the background as everything but the kitchen sink is thrown in the mix. Stunning.

New Generation is currently out of print but you can pick up a best of album pretty cheap from the usual outlets. While it may not feature all the great songs it should pass the time till someone wakes up and reissues this beast.

Franck Sinatra – Miss Kittin & The Hacker
from The First Album on Gigolo Records (2001).

Me and Guiliani Down By The Schoolyard – !!! vs. LFO
from Me & Guiliani Down By The Schoolyard EP on Warp Records (2004).

S.Ghael’s mix site.

I don’t know exactly what makes something electro or electro-clash or electro-punk/rap/disco for that matter. However, I do know that quite universally whenever I hear things that have been identified as belong to those catagories I dislike them. Take for instance the two tracks I posted today…I don’t like them and would pretty much never listen to them, except for the fact that are part of S.Ghael’s mix Advanced Technique.

S.Ghael’s mix can be downloaded for free in all its greatness from his site, which I have given above. Go ahead and get it, I’ll wait. Two reasons why I directed you to his site instead of providing the mix for DL here: 1. The site is pretty integral to the mix itself and S.Ghael has brief input about each track in the mix. and 2. It is better to get the mix complete instead of just a snippet. Additionally, this mix was put together in Abelton Live and many tracks were extensively remixed and edited. You can argue until you are blue in the face about the merits of this kind of software mix compared to the more traditional mixer and two turntables, but S.Ghael was able to relize things for his mix here that would not have been possible with the more traditional technique and I know for a fact that he had fun doing it. Besides from his site you can download some of his previous mixes, which are mixer + decks affairs. I recommend them all, but especially Southern Comfort, which is a minimal techno mix that I love and is possibly the only mix ever made that is perfect theme music for both vegetable chopping and high speed police pursuits.

Full disclosure, S.Ghael is a very great friend of mine, but I believe I can still be objective about this mix. It is slightly industrial techno with some of what we’ll call for this post electro-clash, and frankly I don’t like many of tracks on here at all. But the whole is much better than the sum of its parts, and I really like this mix and have finally put my finger on why. Even though I’ve never done anything harder than full calorie Wild Cherry Pepsi this mix generates a strong desire to score some coke and hit the orgy circuit with Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise. I feel like I need to take a shower after every listen. And that’s the point really, this mix generates a very specific and unique feeling and vibe in me whenever I hear it. And it is something I don’t get from listening to more of “my type” of music. New experiences and new ideas are always welcome.

But this isn’t about me, it is about us. And we have more listening to do and a lot of thanks to give S.Ghael for opening minds.