Rock the Vote Vol. 2

You know the drill. Another vid from last week's champ the Gravediggaz along with four new ones.

Go.

Gravediggaz: "Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide"


Organized Konfusion: "Stress"


Big L: "Put It On"


Biz Markie: "The Vapors"


Leaders of the New School: "Case of the PTA"

Groove, Holmes Vol. 2

David Holmes: Rip Rip, I Think You Flooded It and The Drive to Ripley's
From Out of Sight Original Soundtrack [MCA, 1998]

After dstill's post on the fantastic soundtrack work of David Holmes for Ocean's 11 and 12, I've decided to highlight his work for another Steven Soderbergh film, Out of Sight. I remember going to see this as a little dude in high school, before I was into records, djing, or genuine music appreciation for that matter. But this movie was the shit, and I remember digging the music so much that I immediately went out to buy the soundtrack, which was strange at the time because I was mainly a hip hop and alternative rock head. In fact this could have very well been one of my earliest inclinations to the funk. Funny thing after buying it was my mom asking me, "so you like Jennifer Lopez huh?" Well yeah she's all fine and dandy, but I'm not gonna buy a soundtrack just because one of the stars is hot.

Just like Holmes' work for Ocean's 11 and 12, his ability to create drama while sticking with the central themes of the scenes at hand makes the music in Out of Sight nothing short of incredible and really helps solidify it as a complete cinematic experience. While you get kind of a crime jazz feel from his Ocean's work, the stuff on OOS has a lot of Latin influences as highlighted by "Rip Rip" and "I Think You Flooded It." Unfortunately the cut dialogue sequences interspersed throughout do a fine job of disrupting any fluidity.

I have a feeling Holmes studied suspense legends like Lalo Schifrin and Roy Budd as you can certainly see a lot of similarities in his work. Take "The Drive to Ripley's" for example, which sets up the pivotal final scene in the movie through an array of crushing drums, thumping bass stabs, atmospheric keys and tones. It all leads straight to Ocean's 11 which has obviously already been covered here.

Barbara & Ernie - Prelude To

Barbara & Ernie: Play With Fire and Searching The Circle
From:Prelude To (Cotillion, 1971)

So, continuing with the theme of my last post, today I'm giving you a couple of tracks from another legendary hard to get your hands on record, Barbara & Ernie's Prelude To.

This record goes for serious money on eBay, partly due to it's drums being sampled by Smif-N-Wessun's "Wrektime", partly due to it's lack of a single reprint, but mostly due to it's rather excellent music.

Probably best categorized as Psyche/Folk/Soul, it's the kind of record that could only have been made at the end of the sixties/beginning of the seventies - the album's truly exquisite harmonies laced with a melancholy edge making it a simply sublime record to play on a chilled summer's day.

Primarily made up of Barbara Massey, a session vocalist for artists such as Cat Stevens, and Ernie Calabria, a guitarist in Harry Belafonte's band in the sixties, the singers were backed up by a fine selection of musicians including legendary jazz pianist Keith Jarrett. Apart from that I'm afraid I know nada about it or the artists themselves, any light that could be sown would be gratefully received.

The first song I have for your blissed out sonic experience is Play With Fire. The track starts with the most somber of folk organs before quickly slipping into an easy, laid back groove. I can not put in words how much I love Barbara's voice, it's got a wonderfully relaxed edge that belies the intensity that she's putting into the vocals. The voice is so soothing and the production so subtle that it takes a moment to fully comprehend the supreme goodness of this record.

The second song, Searching The Circle, kicks off with a cheeky little snare/bass riff before the perfected harmonies kick in. This track is all about the chorus, equal to anything I've ever heard the Rotary Connection do even in their prime. Like Play With Fire, the way the song builds to a crescendo is truly masterful. I don't have the greatest knowledge of the Psyche/Folk/Soul scene (who does?) but I seriously doubt that there's much else out there as great as this.

All I can wonder is what the hell it was a Prelude To since this is the only record I've ever seen by them and while 100 plus dollars is maybe a bit too high, it is indeed a damn fine album. If you get the chance to get this cheaper I seriously recommend it......

Groove, Holmes

David Holmes: Track 5 and Track 6
From Ocean's 12 Oscar Consideration Promo CD

David Holmes: Track 12 and Track 13
From Ocean's 11 Oscar Consideration Promo CD

So forget that the story didn't make any sense and the caper was kind of wack; Ocean's 12 was pretty rad. I know people who get all into Lord of the Rings and wish they could fly away on a dragon and live in Middle Earth. Fuck that, I want to get lost in a high society jewel heist world. It's all snakeskin, $400 bottles of wine, Riviera terraces, and my girl Catherine Zeta. And all the music is by David Holmes.

In the comments section a couple posts back some people expressed frustration at the commercial releases of the Holmes soundtracks to the Steven Soderbergh movies. Cosigned; that shit sucks. I don't need to hear dialogue over the music because I saw the damn movies, and the soundtrack was the best part. What's more, some of the hottest tracks didn't make the cut, even though they play in the movies multiple times.

Faced with this predicament, I turned to the internet, where eventually I found out that the Academy promos for Best Original Score feature all the original music, and none of the extraneous crap. The prices get kinda ridiculous, but I figured, "what would Elliot Gould do?" and I plonked down the dough, fuggetabout it.

Seriously, the shit is incredible. David Holmes takes all my favorite elements of 60s and 70s scores and exaggerates them, without making a parody. The music straight knocks, and you can almost feel the silk suits. Here are a couple of my favorite bits from Ocean's 11 and Ocean's 12. Rock them the next time you're playing baccarat, and I guarantee the French girls will wink at you.

Bloody Lovely

Gravediggaz: 1-800-SUICIDE (Music Video)
From 6 Feet Deep [Polygram, 1994]

You guys asked for it, and now you've got it; the dark and eerie video for the Gravediggaz' single "1-800-SUICIDE," a song that details the many ways in which one can commit suicide. This track definitely punctuates the horror and downright obsession with death across their '94 album and I'm actually surprised such a project was picked up by a major. Nevertheless, the Prince Paul and Rza spearheaded project is now considered a defining statement in hip hop despite its rather lackluster debut, as this video demonstrates the true genius behind the group.

Enjoy.

..I've been told

Towa Tei: Dubnova (Part 1&2)
From Future Listening! [Elektra, 1995]

A Tribe Called Quest: Find a Way
From The Love Movement [Jive, 1998]

A homie of mine bumps this Towa Tei stuff non-stop. Most of you probably know Tei best as the dude with the Air Jordans from Dee-Lite, but he's spent even more time as a DJ and a solo producer. This joint comes from his first solo record, Future Listening! You're kind of setting people up for disappointment when you give your record a title like that, but this albums's mix of bossa nova, lounge and hip hop holds up just fine.

When I first heard "Dubnova," I was thinking that Tei had flipped the same sample as Jay Dee and the Ummah did for Tribe's "Find a Way," beating them to the punch. As it turns out, the Bebel Gilberto vocal is actually the result of a collaboration specifically for the record. I love it when Jay Dee grabs something off a fairly new record. It seems like that must have been the vibe in the late 70's, when much of the funk backing for rap tracks came from contemporary records. It's also fresh how Tribe write their chorus to fit the Portuguese in the Gilberto version. It's like a rap version of Paul Simon's "I Know What I Know." Yeah, something like that...

It Ain't Easy

The Psycheground Group: "Easy"
From Psycheground [Lupus, 1970]

The Psycheground Group was an obscure progressive rock group from Italy, so obscure in fact that their exact makeup is not entirely known. Supposedly members of Nuova Idea and keyboardist Vince Tempera were members, but I just pulled that information from a random website. Nevertheless, they released this album in 1970 containing five instrumental tracks that span prog and psych while maintaining a funky jazz type of vibe. The standout cut is "Easy," an absolutely nasty exercise in funky drumming, hammond organ, guitar, and bass. The first time I heard this I seriously couldn't believe my ears. Now it's a top want of mine, and with only a supposed 50 copies produced, I know it's gonna be a tough hunt.

Rock the Vote

Here's you chance to have a say on Ear Fuzz's content. I have so many hip hop videos that I have trouble choosing which one I should put up next so I'm going to leave it up to our readers. All you have to do is submit a comment with your request and the video with the most votes will be posted on Monday's update. All of these vids will most definitely be posted at some point in time, but yall get to choose which one you want to see first. TRL for the real headz.

Here are your choices:

A Tribe Called Quest: "Electric Relaxation"


Gravediggaz: "1-800-SUICIDE"


Jeru the Damaja: "Me or the Papes"


Mobb Deep: "Hell on Earth"


Common: "I Used to Love Her"

Eddie Warner - L'Illustration Musicale

Eddie Warner: Devil's Anvil and Brutas Drums
From: Le Jazzbeat - Vol 2 (Phantom, 2004)

While sounding like a new wave arthouse movement, L'Illustration Musicale was actually nothing more fancy than a French library label, brought into being in the 60's by Jazz pianist Eddie Warner to provide the requisite funk for film and tv soundtracks.

However, as the many gems produced by the BBC Radiophonic recordings have proved, never judge a book by it's cover as the music that was produced by Eddie during this period is a cutting edge blend of funk and electronic experimentation. What Warner's tracks had in particular though was a sense of fun that is perhaps missing from more contemporary funk - an ability to make you nod your head and smile at the same time.

Long the desire of beathunters, some of the best of this music is now available on the compilation album Le Jazzbeat - Vol 2 and I've got up two funky french zingers for your listening pleasure.

Devil's Anvil kicks in straight away with an absolute killer of a headnodding break quickly coupled with a cheeky bassline, a harpsichord(!) and then tops all this with a guitar riff of pure sci-fi dimensions. You really can't believe that he could fit so much into a track that barely lasts two minutes.

Brutas Drums is perhaps the most aptly named track ever, offering, as it does, pure unadulterated drums of extreme high quality coupled with the most simple of organ accompaniments. This track really is all about the drums and what drumming it is. Eddie once again avoids any chance of the track outstaying it's welcome by wrapping it up within two minutes.

Big L(oss)

Big L, AG, D Flow, and Party Arty: Interview and Freestyle
From Fat Beats Radio [199?]

Every time I listen to Big L I get a little bummed that he's not still with us. There's just something about his voice that makes you realize how passionate and hungry he was to show and tell, and there's no doubt in my mind that he had so much more to say.

This interview and freestyle session with L shows just how genuine of a character he was and really how much was lost after his untimely death in '99. Crew mate AG, as well as D Flow and Party Arty from the Ghetto Dwellaz also take stabs at the mic.

This one will likely be up for only a few days. Not to be missed.

Always on the up and up

Quasimoto - Closer (feat. Madvillain)
From: Further Adventures of Lord Quas (Stones Throw, 2005)

When Madlib and MF Doom joined forced for last year's Madvillainy, the resulting record got "more spins than the power plays" and "earned them a tower of praise," as Doom himself puts it. If there was ever any doubt about the duo's ability to follow up such a well-recieved album, this track (from the upcoming Quasimoto LP) puts it to rest, proving that the Loop Digga and the Supervillain could easily drop hot shit from 2003 'til infinity. Doom's odd quiet-voiced delivery, Madlib/Quasimoto's blunted bar-trading, and a stunning sampled hook come together to create a song every bit as dope and original as anything they've done. Here's to the future.

[As always, Ear Fuzz is about sharing good music, not disrespect. If anyone from Stones Throw wants this taken down, let us know and we will do so immediately.]

You can pre-order Further Adventures of Lord Quas here, here, or here.

Leo's Sunshipp

Leo's Sunshipp: "I'm Back For More" and "Madame Butterfly"
From We Need Each Other [Lyons, 1978]

Tragedy surrounds this soul group which was formed by singers Kenny Stover, Johnny Simon, and Allen Few, all of whom were born under the astrological sign of Leo. Kenny's brother Elgie had ties with the music industry, and Kenny along with Simon at one point were backup singers for Marvin Gaye (you can hear them on his Hear My Dear album).

Both were involved with a number of groups like the Wallace Brothers and the Naturals, but Simon sought the spotlight. That's when Stover and Simon met Allen Few and formed Leo's Sunshipp and in 1977 they recorded four songs. Tragically, Stover became ill and soon died from cancer in his early thirties. Lyons Records eventually finished and released the album We Need Each Other, but four of the nine songs are alternate mixes, with "Leo's Sunshipp" the only non-repeating track. "Give Me Sunshine" was a minor hit, but with Simon gone the group soon disbanded.

It's unfortunate because Leo's Sunshipp could have easily flourished through the 80's. I'm not the biggest soul fan, but I really like the crisp and almost disco-esque vibe that characterized their music, which is why I say they could have easily evolved through the next decade. Nevertheless, We Need Each Other is a great album that's pretty tough to find in the original, but fortunately it's been reissued.

Photek - Hidden Camera

Photek: KJZ and Hidden Camera
From: The Hidden Camera E.P. (Astralwerks, 1996)

Back in my schooldays music appreciation was split into two very clearcut groups; you were either into rave or grunge. Sure, there was other music being played and you could put on a De La Soul album and everyone would nod their head but above it all lay these two clear cut groups.

I was most definitely a raver back then and used to shop every week for the latest jungle, and later drum n bass, vinyl, never returning home until I had an armful of headache inducing breakbeat monsters.

However, come the mid nineties, the music that at first seemed so different and challenging had begun to grow extremely stagnant, every week I'd go and hear the same old Amen breaks and warped basslines over samples from Scarface and Goodfellas and I began to loose love and interest in the scene. Then this album came along and simultaneously proved to me how great drum and bass could be while killing of all my interest in subsequent releases as I could see that the future of my music taste lay elsewhere.

Rupert Parke's, AKA Photek, had already been on the scene a while when this EP was released and he must have been as sick of the stagnation of the scene as this album was a major step in the crossover between the electronic and organic in dance music.

Gone are the Amen beats of old and instead we suddenly have something more like freestyle jazz drumming. Take a listen to the first track I have up for you today, KJZ, it's drums are more like something you'd hear on a Billy Cobham record than on a record by one of the up and coming drum and bass maestros as Photek samples his own staccato drumming to create a texture of breaks. Add to this the beautifully late nineties synth strings, the subtle electronic vocal harmonies and the plucked bassline and you have 7 and a half minutes of modern jazz genius.

The second track, Hidden Camera, is a slower number, full of whirling spookiness and ominous strings. While less groundbreaking than KJZ it proved once again that you could have tracks that worked as well on headphones as the dancefloor and that the Amen and Apache breakbeats really had had their day.

After releasing an album which was more compilation than new material Photek also started to distance himself from the drum and bass scene, dabbling in techno and house, before returning to the folds of drum and bass with his own label. However I'd really liked to have seen what he could do if he'd gone the more Matthew Herbert/Squarepusher route and let his imagination run free........

You can read more about the man here.

Blowin' up the spot

Amon Tobin - Verbal (Boom Bip remix)
From: Verbal 12" (Ninja Tune, 2003)
Boom Bip - Last Walk Around Mirror Lake (Boards of Canada remix)
From: From Left to Right EP (Lex, 2003)

Bryan Hollon (aka Boom Bip) is one of the several artists currently exploring the grey area that exists between hip-hop, indie rock, and electronic music. Like Sixtoo, Hollon has managed to shed the label of 'Anticon beatmaker' and move on to a successful solo career as a producer. His music sounds simultaneously huge and tiny; I'm never quite sure if I should be listening to it on speakers or headphones. Anyway, here are two of my favorite non-album cuts, showcasing Boom Bip as both remixer and remixed.

Pieces and Beats

Nightmares on Wax: "Playtime (John McEntire remix)"
From Warp 10+3 (Warp, 1999)
The Pastels: "Remote Climbs (John McEntire remix)"
From Illuminati (Up, 1999)
John McEntire: "Quinn Goes to Town"
From Reach the Rock Soundtrack (Hefty, 1998)
Coldcut: "More Beats and pieces (John McEntire Tortoise mix)"
From More Beats and Pieces 12" (Ninjatune, 1997)

A request for the John McEntire version of "More Beats and Pieces" got me thinking about the breadth of the Tortoise co-founder's solo material. Reverb, lost-in-space bloops, and clipped drum samples abound. While not necessarily DJ friendly, these tracks avoid congruence for just long enough to make the eventual backbeat or consonant melody line snap you to attention. Somewhere between cocktail party background music and stoned headphone rhapsodies, these tracks don't grab you by the neck so much as they seep into your skin.

I Don't Think I Can Dance to This...

Kid Koala: Tricks and Treats
From Scratch Happy Land 10" (Ninjatune, 1996)
Coldcut: More Beats and Pieces (Kid Koala's Obsessive Behavior Mix)
From More Beats and Pieces 12" (Ninjatune, 1997)
Kid Koala: P. 42
From Nufonia Must Fall(Ninjatune, 2003)

Kid Koala is one of the most talented and engaging DJs around, bar none. Ask the Automator, who uses Koala's cuts on just about every single project he does. The whole "turntablism" movement seems to have run its course, leaving most scratch DJs adopting a more traditional club rocking style, or lingering in obscurity. Kid Koala keeps wowing crowds for the simple fact that he's a great entertainer. He's the scratch DJ you can take your girlfriend, your music theory nerd friends, or your parents to go see without having to worry about whether they'll get it.

Word is Koala first grabbed the attention of the Ninjatune massive with his homemade 4-track tape, Scratchcratchratchatch. This tape, along with Dibbs' Turntable Scientifics pretty much set the standard for the whole anything-goes-scratch-tape thing. The tape later got edited down and released as Scratch Happy Land on Ninjatune. I posted the Charlie Brown routine, which never fails to get a smile.

Kid Koala has done several projects and remixes for his Ninjatune brethren, but this Coldcut one is by far my favorite. Maybe one of my favorite DJ tracks ever. Ridiculous.

These days Koala's style focuses heavily on composition and melody. He's one of the few DJs who creates fully orchestrated songs on the turntable. The results are pretty strange. Good, too. P. 42 comes from the soundtrack to his book, and really should be required listening for aspiring scratch DJs.

Oh, and the whole reason I thought to post all this was because he just released a live CD/DVD of his last tour. I was going to post the Drunk Trumpet routine, but it's in my car right now, and besides, you really should SEE it too. Go cop that!

Record Collector's Dreams

Picture taken from the KUSF Rock N' Swap 4/3/05

Bola Sete: "Bettina"
From Workin' On A Groovy Thing [Paramount, 1971]

Aswad: "Dub Fire"
From A New Chapter of Dub [Mango, 1982]

I found myself waking up at 4:30 this morning, which was technically 3:30 because of daylight savings, to go to the KUSF record swap, a record show that's held every 3 months at the University of San Francisco. I haven't been to one in over 6 months due to a combination of lack of finances and scheduling conflicts, but for those that have never been to a record show let me just say that they can be pretty intense. We're talking about a room full of record collectors; obsessive compulsive people searching for hundreds, often thousands of records to file in their Ikea Expedits, all in hopes of slowly filling voids in their lives, and feeling better about themselves and their hobby. Yes I am one of these people and this is what we do.

Now I've only been to a handful of these things, and the last one I went to was absolutely no holds barred. The serious collectors will arrive at 5:30 in the morning and pay an extra $15 to get first dibs on the records. As dealers set up shop, dudes will stalk them ilke vultures waiting for the instant they open up their crates to the public when people make a mad dash, pushing and shoving their way to the front so they can get the pick of the litter. Nothing hurts more than watching somebody pull a killer record right before your eyes, and nothing feels better than finding that one you've been searching for for months, even years. In a way it's kind of like survival of the fittest, if you catch my drift.

But this is what makes us who we are. We thrive on the thrill of the hunt; the idea that all of these records await us somewhere out there for us to find. It's an epic game of cat and mouse. Road runner vs. coyote. We hope someday we'll win, but deep down we wish the hunt never ends.

Here are the pieces I picked up today. Nothing major, but I've been looking for the Johnny Hammond and Curtis Mayfield for a bit. Scored a nice stack of hip hop as well. Apparently there were shows in Austin and Pasadena this weekend as well so the dealer turnout was only about 50% of usual, and the scene definitely wasn't as chaotic as I've seen in the past. I'm still glad I went though, cause I love records.

Just a couple of random audio selections from my stack. Bola Sete's "Bettina" which was sampled by A Tribe Called Quest, and Aswad's "Dub Fire," off their superb dub album A New Chapter Of Dub. Listen. Enjoy.

Curtis Mayfield: Curtis
Johnny Hammond: Gears
Bola Sete: Workin' On A Groovy Thing"
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson: From South Africa to South Carolina
Aswad: A New Chapter In Dub
Clifton Chenier: Bogalusa Boogie

Grand Puba: Reel to Reel
Steady B: Let the Hustlers Play
Eightball & MJG: On Top Of The World
Showbiz & AG: Goodfellas (not really sure if this is an OG but it was $3 nonetheless)
DJ Quik: Rhythm-al-ism
De La Soul: "Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa b/w Keepin' the Faith"
Bad Azz: "We Be Puttin' It Down"
Ghostface: "One b/w Saturday Night"
Group Home: "Tha Realness b/w Suspended in Time"
Pete Rock: "Tru Master"

A small introduction to the G-Funk era.......

Leon Haywood: "I Want'a Do Something Freaky To You"
From: The Best Of Leon Haywood

George McCrea: "I Get Lifted"
From: Rock Your Baby

Killermike's recent post on a couple of G-Funk classics inspired me to trawl back through my collection for a couple of songs that Dre used back in the day when creating the classics The Chronic and Doggy Style.

First up we have the extroadinarily sleazy funk of Leon Haywood's I Want'a Do Something To You. An artist who had various solo and collaborative hits in the sixties, Leon really took it to another level with this 1974 opus. I love the opening riff, so famously used in Nuthin' but a "G" Thang, but also the Isaac Hayes style strings that lace the track and the Lil Louis style woman breathing erotically over the top. Ignore the absolute banality of the lyrics and focus on the layers of the production, with wailing guitar, falling strings, a chugging bassline and, of course the ultimately in sleazy orgasming backing vocals. You can find out more about Leon's career here.

The second track for your listening enjoyment is George McCrae's I Get Lifted. Still probably most famous for his cheap soul compilation classic Rock You Baby, George actually has a lot more strings to his bow including this little number from the album Rock You Baby. Used in Snoop Dogg's Gin N Juice it's got the kind of funk break begging to be sampled, and dear god has it been sampled, utilised for tracks by Snoop, Big Daddy Kane, Redhead Kingpin and, cough, Montell Jordan among others. It's one of those superb tracks where less is more, a song built on a killer riff with George laying down some very seductive vocals over the top and a "cha cha" breathing sound complementing the chorus. You can read a full bio of the man at his website here.