Mellow Monday 14: Kenton Dunson + 3 Great Hip Hop Songs

     Alright folks here we are again, first off apologies for the lack of posts but (I say this every week) hopefully I'll be more on the ball this week.

     So you remember the last installment of Mellow Monday? Probably not but if you did take the time to listen you would've heard Beautiful Fight by Kenton Dunson, which is an absolute landscape of lyricism and amazing production. Geeking out aside Kenton Dunson is a Maryland born intern... sorry... Rapper/ producer/ instrumentalist who quite his job at an investment firm early 2010 to focus on his dreams, and has been doing well so far. As I understand it he has two full length tapes out, Creative Destruction and the sequel Creative Destruction 2. (Hint: Both are available at his FB page, but big ups to ThisSongIsSick for putting it in the bright lights).

     Creative Destruction 2 is a relatively short album, clocking in at around half an hour with nine tracks, all original (as far as I can tell), and all produced by a true artist. Its emotional, soulful, passionate, and true to form and I for one have a hard time believing its free.

      Personally I feel I need to do all I can to get this man traffic. I wish I could quite my job and pursue music, forget about it all and chase my dreams, but it takes immense strength and belief to accomplish something like that. So from all of us here on the internet, power to you man, never let the spirit leave the music, or the music leave the spirit.

      Lets kick into the next set here with a relatively new track from Brooklyn natives Small Black. As far as I can see Small Black are actually an electro/ synthpop group formed at the end of 2008 in an attic above a surf shop, but lets focus on one particular song. Two Rivers is a thick emotional ride across soundwaves and hypnotizing illusions, but most importantly it features Heems. Heems is one third of Das Racist and if you haven't heard any of their tracks then quickly remove yourself from existence! But I digress expect to hear more from Small Black and Das Racist in the future but in the meantime check out Two Rivers.

      So you all know Kid Cudi, and you know he's kinda slowed down with recording these days, but did you know he's doing some down to earth writing/recording with Dot Da Genius? Apparently they aim to bring back vibrant, energetic punk rock with a twist, its supposedly going to be clean, yeah Cudi with no swears, we'll see about that. Anywho whatever they end up doing will draw attention for better or worse, I would say better, but check out the single, Brake, and expect the album WZRD out January 30th.

 
     Frank Ocean, R&B at its finest. I think one of the biggest musical leaps of faith I have ever taken was when I gave his Nostalgia: Ultra mixtape a try. I had never really enjoyed the softer side of hip hop but Frank Ocean had one thing most artists don't, worthwhile Coldplay remakes. Shallow I know but this man has a voice that rends the walls of your heart and leaves you craving more. We All Try, will always bring a tear to my eye, but on to the newest track... Back. Back is a romantic real life story and on top of that it was produced by Dapo (yeah I've never heard of him either). So give it a try and open your mind, and if you're a cold hearted cynical bastard like myself then steel yourself and try not to notice those things called emotions.

     Once again I hope you enjoyed today's post, hopefully I will be posting again soon, also expect to hear from The Buddha again soon enough and maybe in a couple months we'll have a track up ourselves. So check us out on Facebook and please support the artists more than you support the blog.

   

Toxic Tuesday 24 : Nowonder + 3 Great Electronic Tracks

     I love long searches around the internet looking for pictures or links, well I would love them if this post wasn't a day late. Hopefully I can get this post out with enough time for the Wednesday post... if its still Wednesday. But I digress, I figured it better to do this post late than not at all as the material today is off the charts.

     I remember last Thursday, I was walking across town after work, it was dark and teaming with rain and stressed out drones honking their horns at anyone who happened to cross their paths. It was a perfect night for an escape, and so I did. I plugged in my head phones and drifted away into an epic world of music and darkness while the rain still poured. I only have one man to thank for my escape, Danny Choi, or Nowonder.

     Danny is a Los Angeles based electro-pop producer, largely unknown. I came across his recent EP on TBE and was instantly drawn in by the promise of free music and the chance to hear something new. Nowonder is apparently a one man band, writing, producing, singing, mixing and recording all of his music. His EP "Colour The Concrete" is that amazing kind of unknown experience we are all looking for, blending masterful electronic styles with strings and a haunting voice. I would label it as horribly beautiful melodic ambient that pulls not only piano strings but the heart strings. So plug it in, turn it up and drift away.

Color The Concrete EP by Nowonder

     Our first additional song tonight will melt your face with a wall of pure sound. Thats right its a new track from Canadian wonder Excision, his new album X-Rated dropped not too long ago and apparently he's keeping up appearances with this absolute banger featuring Messinian, X-Rated (Original Mix).

 
     Our next track is a complete theft from TSIS, an epic new house anthem from J Flash, That'll Work. This is his first single so if you love the track as much as I do head on over to Beatport and support!

     I must admit I lost a little faith in Mustard Pimp after they produced a song for Jersey Shore. But all that respect has been restored with the release of their new track, In The Garden (Instrumental).

     Thanks again for stopping by, sorry about the delay, expect today's scheduled post tomorrow, hopefully I can get it all sorted out. If you feel like being a better person please consider supporting the artists and liking our Facebook page here.

Toxic Tuesday 23 : Red Eye Fugu + 3 Great Electronic Tracks

     So I've been feeling guilty over the last few days, I've been neglecting this blog and my personal life altogether. So today I thought I'd smash you with something new, almost brand new... Red Eye Fugu.

     Red Eye Fugu is Enzo Tiano, a very talented unsigned producer from Los Angeles, California. I did a bit of reading into his backstory and it turns out this chap emigrated from the Philippines at fifteen and soon after that discovered an urge to write and sing his own songs. Correct me if I'm wrong here but I believe he currently has two albums out, both full of memorable tunes and thought provoking tracks.

     His latest full length album, Watchers, was released back on September tenth and has been getting a good amount of exposure around the web. Watchers is a ten track masterpiece of science fiction goodness spanning just over half an hour. Averaging at about 108 BPM these tracks may not be our usual cracked out super electro but they will definitely get you on your feet. From what I understand (Which is never really much) the Watchers LP has its basis in many an end of the world myth which gives it a kind of eerie seriousness at times but Enzo quickly puts the pop back in electro-pop and creates an almost child like sense of wonder and excitement that soon had me staring at the clouds and smiling the day away.

     I've (Hopefully) included a Soundcloud box below where you can sample and download the tracks from Watchers, if you have the time I encourage you to link on over to the actual Soundcloud site and grab his previous EP Suspicious Characters. Also head on over to his Facebook to grab a little more knowledge about his past and present endeavors and the philosophy behind his albums. [Via: TBE]


Watchers LP by Red Eye Fugu

     Following the recent trend I've picked out a few recent tunes for you guys to peruse. First off another great new dub from Mord Fustang, then a brand new house track from San Francisco producer DJ Steven Zhu who is currently dropping a new track every week. Last but not least we have an absolute banger of a remix by The Chaotic Good, Discord By Midnight Conspiracy. Again all of these amazing tracks are via The Burning Ear, because I have fallen off my high horse and forgotten to check the blogs... maybe next week I'll steal from someone else. If you haven't already head on over to our Facebook to stay updated and to be a better person.

Mord Fustang - A New World

Zhu - Revelations (Vocal Mix)

Midnight Conspiracy - Discord (The Chaotic Good Remix)

K's Rainy Day Tunes: Austra

Contrary to what my title says, it is not raining in my small town today. In fact, it is quite sunny, if a little on the chilly side. However, in my head there's always some form of struggle, and with that comes music which suits the mood, and it's often the stuff that I imagine would be great on a rainy day.

I came home this evening from a very busy week, and immediately started looking for some music worthy of being posted here. There are now a lot of things that I don't have done, but I feel like this is worth it for all of the fans out there. I am quite pleased with what I found, and impressed with where I found it.

Today's artist is featured this week on iTunes (at least for Canada). Austra is a Canadian band consisting of three members. This electro-pop band has been added to the "dark music" or "goth" classification. Katie Stelmanis was an opera student, and her voice is "powerful, bruised and otherworldly, it haunts these tracks, holding back in the shadows until it's time to provide its shock impact..." As such, it adds something to this music which sets it apart from other bands. Austra's songs have a rich and interesting sound which can take you away on a magical journey through the musicality and lyrics of the songs.

If you are interested in today's band, please head on over to Austra's website. There you will find a free download as well as links to Twitter, Myspace and even Tumblr. 

I hope you enjoyed the post, and I would like to thank you for your continued support.

Ciao,

K.