Jokers of the scene – Life, Laughter, Death Mix

Jokers of the Scene “Life Laughter Death” Mixtape May 2011 by Jokers of the Scene

Every once and a while I like to channel my inner raver.  I recall the days, a decade ago, wearing pants with enough material to make up a closet full of my jeans now.  I think of those days when I didn’t own glow sticks just in case of a roadside emergencies.

Ah, the good old days…  Man I wish I had music like this back then.  Don’t get confused, Jockers of the Scene only reminds me of those days by genera alone.  This mix isn’t cheese ball 90′s rave…  It’s just straight nasty music.

I love how dark the mix gets and how it continues to build upon itself.  The steady dance beat refuses to quit until the final bars. Its one of those mixes that make you want to continue to hear what’s next. So many times Dj’s derail themselves with one bad track 10 minutes in. Inevitably there will be that track but not on this one, for me at least.

Like everything Jokers of the Scene does this mix is excellently crafted in song choice, quality of the mixes, and overall speed.  Whether you check it out to remember those raves in the Nineties or if you are born in the Nineties and need something to get you amped for the rave this weekend; this mix should hit on all points in between.  Cheers.

 

 

SBTRKT

I feel really bad about keeping this band away from you guys. I have been selfish. I have literally been listening to SBTRKT’s newest album for almost a week now. I just wanted to keep it to myself for a little bit longer. Well the wait is over and the new album is out on Young Turks Records. Soon there will people experiencing their sound.

So what is so special about SBTRKT? Everything? Damn, that is such a shitty answer but it’s true. I have been listening to music religiously now for almost two decades. You hear a lot of copies of generas and sounds. Some are very good at their craft so sound like carbon-copies. But then there are bands that just drop a bomb on you. Your senses get overloaded from the foreignness. That makes a post like this so difficult. I am now rambling trying to find comparisons. How exactly do you describe a band that you yourself can’t compare.

I’ll just tell you what I like about SBTRKT. I love the R&B vocals between what sounds like one male and one female singer. I can’t tell you who is singing on the album since very little information about the production is released. All I know is the Sampha and Little Dragons perform on two of the songs featured here (above) SBTRKT’s has kept his alias anonymous. Seriously, I am not making this up. The guy performs with a mask when doing lives show and keeps his identity a secret. Even interviews are done completely blind.

If you pressured to categorize SBTRKT’s music I would say it’s Bass Music. Even that categorization does a dis justice to the music. There are elements of garage, dubstep, electro, and bass music but all of it is twisted into whimsical spaced out hybrid. What makes this album really exciting for me is the applications into popular music. Everyone of these songs you could slip into top 40 music and it would take off. The sound would be completely foreign to most listeners but the song writing is brilliant. It is genera, aged defying, race and culture bridging brilliance.

SBTRKT – ‘I Look At Stars’ ft Sampha from Charlie & Joe on Vimeo.

Florrie Arrives

What a difference a year makes. I started following this drummer, singer, & song writer on twitter over a year and a half ago. Then I stopped following twitter almost completely. I had not thought about this talented musician in a long time. A few days ago my buddy Jim sends me this link to this Florrie video. With only 10k hits on youtube she is anything but a pop sensation but give her six months and I am sure her name will be mentioned in the mainstream. She definitely can make pop music. She has the look of a runway model (the D&G promo in this video leads me to believe this is already a reality) and voice of a star. Maybe its time to jump on twitter and see what is next for Florrie…