The Chap

Check The Chap's label page and there are two lines in the "About" section, one of which reads, "The Chap: have never been influenced by anyone or anything at any time, ever." While I appreciate and even support their refusal to apologize for or explain their influences, I don't believe them. I do believe in letting the music speak for itself. So stop reading this and download these songs and make up your own mind while I explain the comparison I'm about to make. My take, highly influenced by the mass quantities of '80s music I've been listening to lately, is this: The Chap deftly juggles bits and pieces of Gang of Four, XTC, Queen, Men Without Hats, and Kraftwerk for a capricious rock 'n' roll dance party. Their third album, Mega Breakfast, is evidence of a quirky, lo-fi band that's pulled out all the stops and plans on playing stadiums. Do yourself a favor and lower your guard down while listening so you can fully revel in The Chap's merrymaking. Their album cover is a mylar balloon dog whose nose has been dipped in chocolate and sprinkles for crying out loud. If you don't get a kick out of this record it may be time for a swift kick to the head. (Be sure to watch the video for the album's standout track).

From Mega Breakfast (2008):
They Have a Name [MP3, 3.3MB, 192kbps]
Carlos Walter Wendy Stanley [MP3, 4.1MB, 192kbps]
They Have a Name (Atlas Sound Remix) [MP3, 4.8MB, 192kbps]

From The Horse (2003):
(Hats Off To) Dror Frangi [MP3, 7.7MB, 210kbps]
Volumatic Spacer Device [MP3, 4.2MB, 153kbps]
I Got Flattened By a Pig Farmer [MP3, 3.7MB, 137kbps]

From Fun EP (2002)
Yes [MP3, 6.7MB, 192kbps]

"Fun and Interesting" [Video]

www.ghostly.com
www.thechap.org

Karl Hector & The Malcouns

Stones Throw's funk imprint, Now-Again, follows up the mind-blowing Heliocentrics album with this desert continent disc from neo-afro funk collective Karl Hector & The Malcouns. First, a quick who's who of the principals: Karl Hector (vocals & percussion) has, up to this point, only recorded his skills on one 7-inch back in '96 with the Funk Pilots; Between Jay Whitefield (Poets of Rhythm), Thomas Myland and Zdenko Curlija (The Malcouns) a wide swath of instrumental ground gets covered. Six more musicians round out the collective. "Nyx" stands out as a faithful sampling of Sahara Swing as a whole. Its gritty groove breaks down into raw african percussion about a minute and a half in, after which a fog of free jazz rolls past until the guitars resume their call and response riffs. It's like overhearing a conversation that you can't stop listening to because you want to hear the rest of the story. And the rest of the story about Sahara Swing goes like this: it'll be one of the hottest additions to your summertime party playlist.

Nyx [MP3, 4.4MB, 160kbps]

www.stonesthrow.com/Now-Again
www.myspace.com/themalcouns

Oh Astro

Caution! These songs may induce seizures or stuttering. My dad used to stutter severely. Up into his early 20s he could barely get out name out. He passed it down to his sons, although we never stuttered to the extent my father did. I remember going to speech therapy when I was in elementary school. They'd encourage me to stutter away. Talk right through the anticipation, the fear of stuttering. It worked for me. On rare occasions I still stutter, but it doesn't bother me at all. With apologies to those who struggle with dysfluency, stuttering reminds me of a remix, of turntable scratching. It artfully strips down language to its phonemes. And it can be rhythmic. The sample-tastic duo Oh Astro shares my interest in stuttering. On their new album, Champions of Wonder, they strip down existing songs down to individual notes, mash in a few other songs or vocals, and freshen up or create entirely new interpretations of those source works. Said re-workings are wonderfully bumpy and jumpy and bravely taunt copyright restrictions. Oh Astro's label, Illegal Art, "claims Fair Use for all of its releases and has professional legal counsel nearby if needed." Smart move. A stream of the entire album is available via Oh Astro's ecard and I highly suggest you follow along with their sample notes as you listen.

Hello Fuji Boy [MP3, 4.7MB, 192kbps]
(samples: Hot Chip “Boy From School,” Fujiya & Miyagi “Ankle Injuries,” and Lionel Richie “Hello")
Snow Queen [MP3, 6.5MB, 192kbps]
(samples: Ratatat “Desert Eagle” and Lily Allen “Everything Is Wonderful”)
Candy Sun Smiles [MP3, 4.8MB, 128kbps]
(samples: Busdriver “Sun Shower,” Gnarls Barkley “Gone Daddy Gone,” and Electronic “Getting Away With It”)

www.illegalart.net
www.oh-astro.com

The Two Man Gentleman Band

I was just looking around on the Serious Business website after posting about Benji Cossa's Christmas album when I noticed the song title "William Howard Taft." You know, the only U.S. President to also be a U.S. Supreme Court Justice? No, no, you only remember Taft as being the fat guy, the poor sap who got stuck in the White House bathtub. Well, that's pretty much what The Two Man Gentleman Band remembers about him too. (I actually think he was in a tough spot, following in Theodore Roosevelt's footsteps and all. I guess I tend to feel sorry for Taft.) With their Dixieland, Tin Pan Alley, goofy slapstick kazoo-billy rock, these New Yorkers tend to have a blast in the recording studio. If you're not one of those serious-types, check out "Prime Numbers." It's kind of hard not to laugh, eh?

William Howard Taft [MP3, 2.7MB, 192kbps]
Prime Numbers [MP3, 2.2MB, 160kbps]
Shotgun Wedding [MP3, 2.3MB, 160kbps]

www.seriousbusinessrecords.com
www.two-man-gentlemen-band.com

The Sugarman Three

We really dig what Daptone's been up to this year. But they've been working at reviving soul for some years now; their comeuppance is due. One of their earliest releases is an album from The Sugarman Three, an outfit built around saxophonist Neal Sugarman and a Hammond B-3 organ. It's a crying shame that tracks from their debut album, Sugar's Boogaloo, aren't available, and that your first taste of the band comes in the form of remixes, but you just shouldn't take another breath until you get yourself a lil' Sugarman action. These remixes are from a complete remix compilation that's been freely available for a couple weeks courtesy of Daptone and friends. Dig deep from the Daptone well friends.

Bosco's Blues (Bull Jun Remix) feat. Large Professor [MP3, 5.7MB, 192kbps]
Take It As It Come feat. Charles Bradley (Afrodisiac Soundsystem Remix) [MP3, 6.3MB, 192kbps]

www.daptonerecords.com

The Harlem Experiment

The Harlem Experiment isn't a band, but a collective of music (specifically jazz, funk, and hip hop) fiends rustled together by Aaron Levinson to pay homage to the variety of sounds eminating over the years from, yes, Harlem. This is the third in Ropeadope's "Experiment" series. They experimented with Philly and Detroit first. "It's Just Begun" begins with a classic funk track by Jimmy Castor and The Castor Bunch, which DJ Arkive dismantled, re-cut, re-worked and scratched up a bit. From there, Eddy Martinez (keys for Tito Puente and Run D.M.C.) stepped in and laid down a screaming keyboard track. Their goal was to maintain the timeless quality of the original track. Do you think they hit the mark? The ears of this novice funkateer say, "we likey, a lot-y."

It's Just Begun [MP3, 3.4MB, 128kbps]

www.ropeadope.com
harlem.ropeadope.com

The Cotton Jones Basket Ride

It might take a few spins — there must be something spinning inside the computer, right? —for this debut track from The Cotton Jones Basket Ride to really work for you. Greg and I were hanging around, giving it a listen, and our first thought was to turn down the volume, for the sake of discretion. But there's something about former Page France frontman Michael Nau's voice that begs to be heard. In this case, it's the refreshingly bluesy, breezy falsetto of "Had Not A Body." He's singing about demons in his head and fire in his throat, but you know, the song is so cool and laid back, it's really nothing to worry about. Time will tell if the rest of his new debut, Paranoid Cocoon, will be equally tranquil; it's due in early 2008. Until then and according to the promo people, "an individually handmade, hand-stamped, limited EP Booklet of five songs is available for purchase at all Cotton Jones shows, and via the Quite Scientific website. The booklets are hand made, hand stamped, and include a CD of four songs set to appear on the upcoming record, and one exclusive to the release." Right on.

Had Not A Body [MP3, 4.2MB, 160kbps]

quitescientific.com
www.myspace.com/thecottonjonesbasketride