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Dukes of Chutney – ‘Domino’

1 November 2013

Featuring at least one film maker to the fashion houses and one performance artist, the Dukes of Chutney title track from their forthcoming Domino EP has a lot of things going on with it. But then two threads soon become a bunch, all of which sound good, acclimatising its listener to a warm bath of funk rhythm and liquid ambience transmitted from a nebulous location.

Premiered on Tim Sweeney’s NYC radio show and released on his fledgling label of the same name, Beats in Space, November 5, the yield of “California born brothers from other cosmic mothers who met surfing” offers a certain gauzy slacker vibe that resonates through the label’s recent Tornado Wallace release and its Secret Circuit inaugurator. We’re sensing a definite thread here. **

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Mykki Blanco – ‘The Initiation’

6 June 2013

There’s a big connection between this new wave of hip young rappers based in New York City and London. Angel Haze credits the UK city with being the first to embrace her and Le1f, the likes of M.I.A. and grime with opening up the sound of hip hop. As for Mykki Blancoif it isn’t ‘Haze. Boogie. Life‘ being shot in what looks suspiciously like Dalston’s Ridley Road Market, this new video, dropped from Mykki’s recent EP, Betty Rubble: The Initiation, out on UNO last month, looks like it’s been shot pretty close by for MOCAtv.

But rather than a beaded, braided hairstyle, it’s his body that’s literally being waved around via the magic of special effects, while he crawls around the grim streets of London with an extra face on his head. It’s oddly appropriate to the weird and alien vibes of his track ‘The Initiation’ and testament to the talent of British director Ninian Doff. If you already thought that Mykki Blanco was weird, things just got a bit more so. **

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Kingdom – ‘Bank Head feat. Kelela’.

Kingdom - 'Bank Head feat. Kelela'.
28 March 2013

Sometimes the art work of the Fade to Mind aesthetic threatens to overshadow the work of its artist, almost. As part of that LA/ New York based world of excellent electronica melting RnB, dub and pop into an exquisitely contemporary sound for the body, it’s artists like  Kingdom whose output is frustratingly sporadic. But it makes the music all the more thrilling when it does finally drop. So, following the New York producer’s 2011 Dreama EP and an intermittent record of dub reworks, VIP Edition, a new EP titled Vertical XL is due for release on Tuesday, May 28.

Adding to the new music credentials is that Kingdom actually runs the Night Slugs sister-label and is responsible for putting out a stable of excellent outfits, from Fatima Al Qadiri to Nguzunguzu and ‘Blank Head’ featuring vocals from LA-based RnB artist Kelela is no exception. See the EP track list below.**

TRACK LIST:

1. Bank Head (feat. Kelela)
2. Zip Line
3. Corpse
4. OG Master
5. Viper Lash
6. Takedown Notice
7. Viper XL

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Butterclock – ‘Holograms’.

Butterclock - 'Holograms'.
27 March 2013

We’re still giddy over Rick Ross cover and Butterclock / oOoOO collaboration ‘Hustlin’, so the only thing that could be more exciting is the former French-born, Berlin-based artist’s upcoming EP First Prom, out on FANTASY Music, April 15.

Dropping her latest taster, after January’s ‘Don’t,’ produced by Chris Dexter Greenspan himself, ‘Holograms’ features an always haunting vocal over the surreal dream pop escapism that Laura Clock has become known for. See the First Prom track listing below.**

TRACKLISTING
1. Crystal Eyes
2. Don’t
3. Holograms
4. Milky Words
5. Sorry Love

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Mykki Blanco – ‘Feeling Special’

Mykki Blanco. Feeling Special.
20 February 2013

We predict big things for Mykki Blanco (aka Michael Quattlebaum Jr) this year. After last year’s brilliant Cosmic Angel: Illuminati Prince/ss drop and Mykki Blanco & the Mutant Angels EP before that through UNO, there’s the announcement of a follow up with a new persona in the Betty Rubble: The Initiation EP in March.

As a first taster of what to expect, Quattlebaum has posted ‘Feeling Special’ on his tumbr and it’s a moodier wander through the weird wonderland of Mykki Blanco while moaning, in deeper-than-ever vocals, “follow me down that rabbit hole”. He also slips in some lines from the earlier ‘Kingpining’ single, while barren bass lines are provided courtesy of San Francisco producer Matrixxman. The latter happens to be a member of the same 5kinAndBone5 collective who produced Le1f‘s pumping hit ‘Wut’ and points to an even grimier sounds to come. Listen to ‘Feeling Special’ here. **

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Balam Acab drops free ‘CLUB WATER DISCUS’ EP.

Balam Acab. 'CLUB WATER DISCUS'.
18 February 2013

It’s hard to imagine just how much more ‘experimental’ performer Balam Acab (aka Alec Koone) could get following the crawling bass lines and echoing pitch-playful melodies of his earlier releases -2010’s acclaimed See Birds EP and the Tri Angle released debut album WANDER / WONDER. Yet, he and the UK/US-based label seem to think he can, dropping the free CLUB WATER DISCUS EP via mediafire and sure enough, it’s quite a diversion from the brooding, self-indulgence of his signature pop-music mutilation.

Featuring a submerged ornamental soundscape of pretty girls vocals and twinkling interjections, the EP could as easily be a corporate video for the underwater hotel of a dystopian fantasy, as a natural progression from Koone’s more downbeat cultural autopsies. Download the EP here and see the tracklisting below.**

Tracklisting:

1 Fairyland
2 Look
3 Dolphinstomp
4 Wannaseeu
5 Dubai Siren

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Kitty – ‘Daisy Rage’ EP

Kitty - 'Daisy Rage' EP
4 February 2013

The Florida meme-cum-human-being, formerly known as Kitty Pryde, has dropped her first EP Daisy Rage via her social network. She’s just Kitty now and a triumph for the purported vapidity of the Great Online with her darkly unstable lyrics attacking everything and everyone on the back foot as a girl who’s single-handedly “ruining hip hop”.

Just 19-years-old and virtually born on tumblr, the snow-white ginger from the suburbs joins a legion of mutant rappers smashing the status quo and taking popular culture down with them. She´s already collaborated with Texan rapper Riff Raff and contributed words to Le1f’s latest Fly Zone mixtape but now she’s come into her own with her razor sharp social (media) observations delivered along the eye-rolling languor of the new cyberpunk. YOLO, twitter and Kim Kardashian’s backside aren’t safe from her biting commentary and with any luck there’ll be plenty more where that came from.

Kitty’s Daisy Rage EP is out now.

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Wildarms – Clear Eyes

31 January 2013

Earlier on this month our friends @ Cascine shared an ambitious opening with colorful hints but at the same time including the always delicate and elegant touch most of their releases are well known for. That new work, “Clear Eyes”, marks the debut EP from Wildarms (Brooklyn producer and music journalist Duncan Cooper).

Clear Eyes EP cover
Clear Eyes EP cover

Released next February 5th, “Clear Eyes” will be their 27th release, and after last week’s clip for Acceptance, the American-Swedish label has uploaded the whole EP on-line to provide with an entire silvan experience…

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