Fat Jon the Ample Soul Physician

now playing: Fat Jon - Tell Me

The ample Jon is not your average beat technician. His extraordinarily varied productions set him apart from those who focus on one type of beat or style of music. He has found success with hip-hop, soul-touching relaxed grooves and more abstract soundscapes

He is probably most famous for his work as a member of Cincinnati's Five Deez. This collective burst onto the scene with their Bluelight Special 12" sometime ago. Since then they have clocked up more than 40 single releases. Jon has his fingers in all the pies with this group, and has contributed to their output as an emcee, producer and DJ. Their debut album, Koolmotor, was released on Counterflow in 2001.
He is also a member of the 3582 crew, the other half being J Rawls. With 3582, Jon has been able to showcase his excellence as a vocalist as his solo material has gained much press acclaim for his unique productions that flirt with electronica, downtempo, and dub sounds.

Elaquent

now playing: Elaquent - Deep Slumber

Today I bring you Elaquent, Beatmaker x Batman Lover x Kung Fu Movie Expert x Night Owl from Guelph, Ontario. I didn't make that up but it was on his facebook page. The following list of his influences can be found on the same page: J Dilla, Madlib, Flying Lotus, Pete Rock, Moka Only, DJ Premier, Mr. Dibia$e, Afta-1, Benny B Blonco, Onra, devonwho, Samiyam, mndsgn, Sunclef, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Marvin Gaye, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Amy Winehouse, Mayer Hawthorne.

He is extremely talented plus a really nice guy, according to his own words. I believe that if his music tells anything about him as a person because we are without a doubt talking about the better kind of instrumental albums.

I'll list his albums with download/purchase links with some words here and there. Most of the stuff is free so you might want to appreciate that and support the artist and buy the few non-free releases.

In Colour (dirty loops)

Download

Skipless

now playing: Skipless - Stella

Today I'm about to keep it short and sweet. Skipless is the second Finnish producer in my posts. He comes from a little city called Ikaalinen - which is mostly known for its spa - and this is how he introduces himself on his website: There is nothing spectacular to tell about myself... Im producer from Ikaalinen, Finland.
I make my beats using only vinyls and MPC. My music is mainly built from old jazz, funk and soul samples, like the beats from golden era. I'm big fan of Pete Rock's productions, but there is also other big influences like Large Pro, K-Def, Damu the fudgemunk, Lord Finesse (etc..) and finnish producers Staffro and Aksim.

He has released two EPs: Jazzamentals in 2008 and Rooftops in 2009. Both were on Dusted Wax Kingdom and like all the label's releases they are free downloads. In 2011 Skipless gave out his first LP, The Traveler's Ghost which is also his first not fully instrumental release.

Download Jazzamentals / Rooftops / The Traveler's Ghost

I like his sound a lot. Maybe he's not technically the best producer you can find but there's something very honest about his music. Nice jazzy loops and soft vibes all over. Totally enjoyable, totally smooth. I've listened to his music while stretching out and that means complete relaxation for me. I've also played his beats while cooking with friends, walking with the dog, watching the rain... So,yeah.. umm.. anyways. Get good music for free and enjoy.

Tha Connection

now playing: Tha Connection - Take It Higher

Representing Hempstead, Long Island, New York, the duo Hus Tha KingPin and SmooVth Dude form Tha Connection, one of the rawest and most soulful hip-hop groups of the 21st century. Young in age but old souls in the game with musical influences including Slick Rick, Wu Tang Clan, DJ Premier, AZ, DITC, Pete Rock, Jeru the Damaja, Nas, MF Doom and Jean Grae to just name a few.

Tha Connection's very first and quite unknown release is called Connect and it came out in 2007. I didn't find any reviews or articles about it and there was only one blog post that I came up with so it really seems like the album is pretty much in the dark. There is a download link to the album on Tha Connection's myspace (although sharebee has been down the whole day, so I'll put another link below).

Generally, it is said that they made their first appearance on 12Bit's Stranded on Planet Rock album on Rawkus Records in 2008. They represented 11 out of 23 tracks on this release.

Download Connect

Download Stranded on Planet Rock

Mic Newman / Fantastic Man

now playing: Fantastic Man - Groove With You

There are two kinds of creative. Those who speak loudly and publicly about their work, and those who let their work speak for it self. Mic Newman falls into the second category. Billed as ‘One To Watch’ by Juno Plus, Mic is rapidly establishing himself as one of the most exiting talents to emerge out of Melbourne’s flourishing dance scene, with his exquisitely deep and incisive take on House music.

European born Producer/DJ Mic Newman made the journey at a young age to Melbourne Australia, a city that is deeply embedded with a culture of diversity and talent – having produced some of the world’s finest musicians and DJ’s alike.

With a strong musical upbringing and aptitude to compose and produce music, Mic took his creative ideas to the next level shortly after beginning his DJ career. His hard work and determination in the studio drew attention of esteemed Australian house label, Vicious and in 2007 they released his debut single Rhythm To Ya Hips – an electro smash hit that caused waves at home and abroad, making its way on to various compilations, including the coveted Ministry of Sound ‘Sessions’. In the same year he collaborated with the local producer Lewie Day to release their Hermione EP on 8bit Records in Germany, and it drew support from some of the world’s leading underground artists like Marc Romboy, Audiofly and Steve Lawler.

Memorecks

now playing: Memorecks - Passing By

Another great artist I've never heard of before.. But thanks to my friend from Chicago (yes the same one that I've mentioned earlier) my situation isn't that sad anymore.

Possibly the newest member of the list of my top producers, Memorecks has a good deal of amazing beats on youtube and his website. Camcorder EP was released in April, 2011 and it is a free collection of his very best works. It is a really solid and at least I'm having it on repeat. I think I'm in love with Passing By. There's some Flying Lotus kind of vibe, some J Dilla and a lot of Memorecks' own geniousity.

 Download Camcorder EP

I didn't find a decent biography anywhere even though the guy seems to be all over the internet. He's from Toronto, Ontario, Canada and he has possibly started his career in 2003. His musical influences are DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Madlib, DJ Exile, Beatminerz, Diamond D, Marley Marl, Marco Polo, 50s-70s jazz etc. 

His beats are also on Bankrush and DJ IV's Solid Mas - The Show Off Mixtape that came out in 2008. It is available on Datpiff.com. 

Easy Changes

now playing: Easy Changes - Chironex Fleckeri

The more I dwelve into house/electronic/techno music the more I seem to like minimalistic and raw soundscapes. Today I was searching for new house tracks from Beatport and I was actually kinda looking for something soulful to get my groove on but, instead, I found Easy Changes. 

Kilrill Sil and Denis Guttersnipe live in Moscow, Russia, and they both have been dj'ing and producing before their common project started off in 2005. Two years after getting together they released two EPs, Magic Tunes and Caviar, almost simultaneously on Foundsound records and got Moscow's attention immediately.

Magic Tunes EP

Caviar EP

Download Magic Tunes

Download Caviar

 

The EPs have been referred to as captivating, mesmerizing, brilliant, gracious... The list of positive adjectives seems endless.

Diz Gibran

now playing: Diz Gibran - Exactly

Diz Gibran is one of those rappers that started young only because of the love for rapping. He never actively pursued a career in music, until recently, and now that he has been in the game for some years there seems to be a growing interest in this LA based talented artist. As a west coast rapper Diz Gibran is not of the typical sort. No gangsta but witty and introspective lyrics, kind of classical material.

Son of a diplomat, Khalil Bernard Kinsey (named after the great Lebanese poet) aka Diz Gibran spent a lot of time traveling around the world. He had seen the world by the age of 16 and, therefore, he had a different point of view and a lot to talk about. Music wasn't the only thing in his life even though he always loved it. In LA, he grew up skateboarding, spraying walls and rhyming. At Lincoln Elementary in Santa Monica, he had a group and they called themselves The Ill Kids - fun fact: Guru of Gangstarr came out on the Ill Kid Records - and in high school Diz got into the battle circuit. At this point, it was all still just for fun, no professional intentions yet. He also dwelved into the fashion side of it and is known as the co-owner of the skate shop Diamond Supply Company.

In 2005, he dropped a mixtape called Spin City vol. 1 which is his first one.

Download Spin City vol 1

There was supposed to be a second part but he got sidetracked and vol. 2 never came out. Spin City was made while he lived in Miami and the album has about 50/50 original material and mixtape instrumentals. Back then the recognition wasn't huge.

In 2009, Diz got back and bigger as his Soon You'll Understand tape came out. It was brought to us by the lifestyle clothing brand Crooks and Castles. Produced by Moonshine, the album has evoked a lot of attention in two years. He has performed with such names as Mos Def, Busta Rhymes, The Game and Clipse, he's been adopted by bloggers all over the world and the industry is starting to warm up, too. Back in 09 Hip Hop Official posted about the album and gave huge credits: "it’s doper than Amy Winehouse’s blood stream".

The buzz keeps on growing. Diz Gibran is a favorite of mine and I believe that he'll be huge in some years. I'm really looking forward to his new stuff to come out because the co-operation with Moonshine has definitely pleased us listeners. Soon You'll Understand represents also the kind of hip-hop that Diz really wants to do so probably the two will keep on working together and bringing us good quality stuff.

Trebles and Blues

now playing: Trebles and Blues - The First Time

Trebles and Blues is a hip hop producer hailing from Los Angeles, CA. When he was 14 years old, he went with his younger brother to a local Sam Goody store and together they purchased their first CD, the Wu-Tang Killa Bees’ first compilation album, The Swarm. That introduced his eardrums to the vibrant sounds of hard-hitting drums and melodies that gave his head no choice but to nod repeatedly.

Trebles and Blues began making beats in late 2009 and in 2010, joined The Soul Dojo Music Group to further its mission of delivering good music to the listeners that long for it. After graduating from UCLA and working in the financial services sector for three years, Trebles and Blues decided in 2011 to pursue music wholeheartedly, and will release his debut album, The Blue Note, on March 1st, 2011. (Quote from Trebles and Blues' website)



The Blue Note is definitely in my top instrumental albums of 2011 so far. I'm sure you will love it, too, so go ahead and have a listen.

There are more beats on his soundcloud and they are absolutely amazing. For instance, Summer Love is the perfect tune for warm evenings spent in good company sipping wine and just chilling.

Summer Love by Trebles and Blues

Untold Songs: Volume One curated by Belle

now playing: Ahu - Contact

Untold Songs: Volume One is a groundbreaking compilation of songs by female artists brought together from all across the globe. The compilation is being released in collaboration with Amnesty International and She Said 2 Much to raise awareness and money for Amnesty International's "Stop Violence Against Women" campaign.

London-based singer, Belle, is the brains behind the project and has grafted to assemble an amazing array of songs from a selection of immense talents from the far corners of the globe. Proceeds from the sale of this release will go straight to Amnesty International.

Pete Philly & Perquisite

now playing: Pete Philly & Perquisite - High Tide

Hailing from Amsterdam, Netherlands Peter Monzon aka Pete Philly and Pieter Perquin aka Perquisite are two of the freshest European hip-hop artists, if you ask me. The collaboration started in 2003, although they both already had musical careers before that. Pete Philly & Perquisite's first release was the Mindstate EP in January 2004 and it got such a positive response that they decided to release a full 17-track Mindstate album in March 2005. Each track represents a different mind state both lyrically and musically.

Mindstate EP cover

Download Mindstate

Among others, Talib Kweli, who stated that "musically these guys are light-years ahead of the game", was featured on the album. They toured around the world and received multiple awards and, eventually, the Mindstate was released also in Japan and the US. In January 2007, as the touring was over, they released a remixed version of the Mindstate called Remindstate and later in the same year their second album Mystery Repeats came out in the Netherlands. Belgium, rest of Europe and Japan followed in 2008.

Mystery Repeats cover

Buy Mystery Repeats

Download

Like the first album, Mystery Repeats was critically acclaimed and the public loved it, too. Its first single Time Flies was a success receiving radio and airplay especially in their own country.

Intensive touring in Japan, Germany and many well-known festivals in Europe, including Sziget, HipHop Open and Summerjam, brought them a growing fanbase and, again, many awards. The third single off Mystery Repeats got into the Dutch Top 40 list and is their most successful track.

Next, both got to their own projects as Perquisite was asked to compose the entire score for a Dutch movie and his official debut Across was released in 2010. Pete Philly has also started to work with his solo material. In 2010, he released a new free track every week for 14 weeks. These Open Loops are available on his website for free and his first full release, One, is coming up.

In 2009, the duo officially ended their common career with a massive live tour. I'm sure both will keep on doing what they do best and please us listeners with new solo material. At least Perquisite has been busy with producing and composing music for many projects. As we wait, I suggest you to get your hands on the albums mentioned above because no one should sleep on this good music.

14KT

now playing: 14KT - Ypsilanti

Kendall Tucker aka 14KT is one of my favorite producers right now. He comes from Ypsilanti, Michigan, and for some he might be familiar from Athletic Mic League and The Lab Techs. His beats are nearly everywhere and, for instance, he has had an impact on getting buff-1 and DJ Haircut aka Mayer Hawthorne to where they are at the moment.

The Golden Hour [SDTRK.] is 14KT's instrumental debut album released in 2008 and also the soundtrack to his life, as he puts it.

If you want to read more about the album and the artist, you should check this interview out. In 2008 he was also a finalist in the Red Bull Beat Battle.

The next full release is called Nowalataz. The album is fully inspired by J Dilla, 14KT's (and my) favorite producer.

Here it is… a project I unofficially had done since 2006. It started when James Yancey a.k.a. J Dilla passed that February. To cope with the death of my favorite producer, who I liked to call my unofficial “musical mentor,” I started making ‘donuts’ …uncontrollably. I never planned to release any of the material out of respect for Dilla & his craft. I’ve shared some of the music with others, in which they would repeatedly ask me to hear it, so I decided to put a little something together and make it official. JUST FOR YA’LL.

Quote taken from A-Side Worldwide.

In 2010, 14KT won the Red Bull Beat Battle. By then, I think, he was recognized as one of the freshest and most versatile beat makers out there.

The newest release, 2011, is called 14KillaTape.

Straight up…this is that raw ish. Slaps. Face twisters. Hard beats. All these joints were made in a span of 08’-11’. It all started when I first got into the Red Bull Beat Battle in Detroit end of 08’. I was never known as a beat battle type producer and believe it or not, I actually don’t like battling with beats. However, that was my first time ever battling with beats. Knowing I was battling, I definitely found myself in a different frame of mind when I sat down to make joints in the lab. While in the lab, my motivation was making beats that I would have HATED if my opponent played them against me. I took a collection of beats where I had that mind state and mixed them with other beats I made during that time period. I’m setting this Killer Tape off with the first joint I ever made in a beat battle mind state and the rest is history. I got a new nickname under my belt now, 14KillaTape…haha.

So, if you still haven't listened to 14KT's beats I suggest you to fix the situation. Go to his soundcloud, listen and download. Don't sleep.

Shad

now playing: Shad - Wild

Shadrach Kabango, aka Shad is a Canadian hip-hop artist. Born in Kenya 1982, raised up in London, Ontario, Shad released his self-made debut When This Is Over in 2005. Before that he had participated 91.5 FM’s (London, ON) annual Rhythm of the Future unsigned talent competition and, winning the first prize, he put the $17,500 on recording the album while continuing his studies at Wilfrid Laurier University.

When This Is Over album cover

When This Is Over was critically acclaimed and got respect especially for the lyrics. Some of the tracks are about the typical but most are not. For example, he uses his mother Bernadette Kabango's poetry when rapping about the Rwandan genocide in I'll Never Understand. After the release, he sold out shows around Canada and got to warm up superstars like Common and Lupe Fiasco.

In 2007, he was signed by Black Box Recordings and he released his second album The Old Prince. The album was an immediate success. It has been referred to as one of the strongest Canadian hip-hop albums ever (Vish Khanna, Exclaim! Magazine), it received a Juno award in 2008 for Rap Recording of the Year, was nominated for the 2008 Polaris Music Prize and it was nominated for two MuchMusic Video Awards.

Shad's third album, TSOL, was released in 2010 and it, too, received the Polaris Music Prize and the Juno award for Rap Recording of the Year.

The Old Prince album cover

TSOL album cover

With these three albums Shad has taken a well deserved place in the top rank. His flow is getting better with every word, although it was pretty ridiculous to begin with. The beats, oh lord the beats, are sick, his lyrics are smarter, more meaningful and layered than you could at first imagine. It feels like he had been on the game for years and years, even though the truth is quite the opposite. Like many other bloggers, I too think that When This Is Over is one of the best debut albums and things get only better after that.

To listen to Shad's music before buying the albums (oh yes, I know you will buy them, unless you're deaf) you can go to his website. He has a list of his official music videos on youtube and all the necessary links to find where you can purchase his auditory gold.