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.
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.”
The Heliocentrics
I can’t promise you these tracks will be up long, so get ’em while the gettin’s good. Malcolm Catto leads the nine-piece Heliocentrics for a crazy, funked-up ride into the far reaches of jazz’s space time continuum. I don’t know what that means either, but it’d take up way too much space attempting to pin down The Heliocentrics sound. They didn’t call it Out There for nothing. It sounds retro, like a James Brown outtake, but Catto’s been spending the present-day diggin’ deep for funk 45s, drumming for DJ Shadow and Madlib, and releasing a solo LP on James Lavelle’s Mo’ Wax Records (the “Untitled” track below is a sample of an unreleased song from those sessions). “Sirius B” is just 1/24 of the electro-free-jazz-space-out The Heliocentrics have unleashed on an unsuspecting and unworthy world.
Hasch’m’Méneum
This is a fun mystery.
Having stumbled upon Hasch’m’Méneum through the backalleys of Last.fm, I have yet to find any more information on them. The best source of information comes in the way of the “electrojazz†tag given to them on said social music network. Normally we at Moodmat shun genre names, especially those of the hastily taped- and stapled-together variety. But this one ain’t bad. Hasch’m’Méneum’s “jazz†has a blues-y chug to it, and their “electro†bubbles a bit under the surface. So songs like “Heliotrope†wouldn’t be out of place in a Jazzanova set, and “Slide†evokes the “future sound of Hull,†a.k.a. Fila Brazillia. Who are these masked men? And why did they leave us two free albums to download?
Dan Sicko (special guest to 3hive.com)
Artanker Convoy
The best way to describe Artanker Convoy is downtempo funk jams. Slowed-down grooves that go on and on as if the earth’s rpm’s have dropped down a notch and no one’s in a hurry to get anywhere or do anything but c.h.i.l.l. An air of improvisation takes center stage as each member of this Brooklyn sextet lays down their perspective track, often tinged with the music they’ve been listening to lately whether it’s east Asian dub, Nashville soul, jazz, Bowie or The James Gang. Their new album (pictured), out now, features a DVD with videos of live performances, animations, and abstract op-art by art collective MUX, who frequently perform live with the band. Most of the MP3s here are unreleased demos, but still offer a good idea of what Artanker Convoy is all about. As a point of band history, Arthur (aka Artanker), drums and percussion, used to rock out in the early ’90s with James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem, in the Jinx Clambake Explosion. Drop that bit of knowledge at your next soiree for major indie-cred points.
Luz Mob
Three years in the making Luz Mob recently dropped his inspired Interpretations. Luz himself plays a couple saxophones, alto and baritone, and the bass clarinet, as well as directing a gaggle of session players across the country. The not-so-unifying thread behind this collection of covers (yes, that’s The Selector’s “The Selector”) is Luz’s wide range of musical tastes: from reggae to hip hop, ska to cumbia. He pulls all the sounds together with hip-hop beats and strong horn playing. The strength of this album lies in Luz’s ability to blend the live instrumentation with the programming without the former being enslaved by the latter. Recommended for after-hour chill sessions or the lazy days you call in “sick” to work and end up dancing all morning in your pajamas.
Sex Mob
With all due respect to Wynton Marsalis and his Lincoln Center crew, jazz traditionalists are…well, they’re jackasses. Jazz was the definition of musical adventure until Upper West Side honkies started trading in their philharmonic memberships for that classic jazz sound. Don’t get me wrong, I like to listen to Miles, Coltrane, Satchmo and the Duke as much as the next person. But Miles Davis wasn’t even revisiting Kind of Blue five years after he made it, so why should anyone else be revisiting it 40 years later? Sex Mob isn’t so traditional. Their meandering horns and smooth rhythms fall somewhere between the avant-garde and the smoky club, and the extracurricular touches—samples, megaphone lyrics, deep electro hums—surely are more thoroughly enjoyed with a doobie than a highball. Indeed, like Medeski Martin & Wood, Sex Mob seems to be a hit among jam band enthusiasts, and while they’re jackasses too, at least they’re jackasses who can have some fun without the faux-witty repartee.
Missing Numbers
Happy New Year from 3hive!
So as I was reviewing songs I had downloaded in 2006 but never posted—you know, just to see what I forgot about last year—I came across the Minneapolis band Missing Numbers hiding on my hard drive. Haunting, dark, moody, suspenseful, and darn catchy. So much music, so little time…
Aloe Blacc
I’m ashamed to admit I would have passed this guy up if I had to gone on name alone. Not to be a jerk, but Aloe Blacc?? Are we really running out of stage names? What’s wrong with Nathanial Dawkins? But, after taking in his magnificient R&B gem “I’m Beautiful” for the first time, I got over my prejudice real quick. This guy’s voice is pure enough to invoke comparisons to Motown legends. His debut, Shine Through has just the right amount of polish (despite being recorded in a makeshift bedroom studio) and draws from a rich array of musical influences, old and new. If most Stones Throw releases reek of chronic (not that I’m complaining, mind you), this joint’s a breath of fresh air. Inhale.
Stones Throw took down the “I’m Beautiful” MP3, but you still get a lovely B-side from the single.
Firecracker Jazz Band
I won’t bog you down with personal details, but I recently hit a speed bump in the road of life. No sympathy, please. It’s just one of those things that absolutely blows now, but with time will seem insignificant and trivial. Still, it’s got me feeling down, and these tracks from the Firecracker Jazz Band (featuring members of Squirrel Nut Zippers) fit the mood perfectly. The comic melancholy of the wa-wa trumpeting, horse clomping, and playful tickling of the piano keys leave me no choice but to laugh at myself and move on. So for anyone who’s been dealt a bad hand the Firecracker Jazz Band is here to tell you, no, really, it’s gonna be OK.