[Review / Sampler] ARCHITECT - "Butter Soul"

As one half of the duo Homeless Derelix, West Coast producer Architect has been making underground heads nod to his personal vision of Hip Hop production since the early 1990s, as well as helping to define the sound of indie label 75 Ark. His new release is called "Butter Soul" and is bound to satisy both old followers and new listeners alike. Entirely instrumental (as in devoid of any emcees or singers though it does features vocal samples) Architect crafts what to my ears sounds like a wild sonic Sci Fi flick through samples, beats and loops. Blazing trumpets, suspenseful strings, dreamy Rhodes, booming basslines, power house drums and movie samples are all part of a rather intense menu that's a worthy descendent of the idea of the beat tape as album. Rarely letting a particular beat play for more than one minute "Butter Soul" is sprawling with musical ideas that puts the aforementioned sonic world through constant transformation. Despite the huge number of different sounds, instruments and sampled genres it however never feels unfocused as the producer undoubtedly got a great ear and attacks the suite with a true DJ:s attentiveness to mixing and blending. 

"Butter Soul" is the latest release on Drasar Monumental's Vendetta Vinyl, which is more and more establishing a signature sound, and they have once again chosen to encode all of the music into only two 15 minutes tracks for the digital versions. It's a good choice as this is something you should experience in full, from front to back and perhaps back again. One area where I find too many instrumental Hip Hop album fail in, and where Dilla's "Donuts" was one of the most important projects in changing the course, is the length of beats. Many producers let tracks that hold the listeners attention for a minute and some change without an emcee instead play out for three minutes or more. The tracks within here are not fully formed songs in and of themeselves but rather parts of a larger whole that together creates a complete composition - a composition that is defined as butter soul. Highly recommended!

You can purchase Architect's "Butter Soul" @  Vendetta Vinyl now. Check out the sampler below...

[Instrumental EP] 9th Wonder - "Zion"

9th Wonder has been on my radar since his excellent work for Jay-Z ("Threat"), Sean Price ("Heartburn"), The Little Brothers and then some, and though he has dopped some hit and misses throughout the years he's definitely's producer you need to check out on his credentials alone. His latest project is called "Zion", and just like excellent instrumental hip-hop artists like K-DEF, Klaus Layer and Flying Lotus to name a few. 

And good news for instrumental hip-hop heads like myself, the 36 track hefty "Zion" is just the first volume on a lot of upcoming 9th Wonder instros to come. ""I hope to release every beat I’ve ever made over the next few years, ... Some unfinished, some ideas, some of my favorites, etc. They can’t just sit around, so this ZION series will be used for that. I’m letting them all go." 9th wold Mass Appea Magazine recently. So what you're waiting for, press play below, close your eyes and start banging your head.

SREAM "ZION" @ 2DBZ 

[Stream] AYATOLLAH X DRASAR - "Boxcutter Brothers III"

I'm so happy to see my man Drasar Monumental and his Vendetta Vinyl team get the props they deserve, first through his excellent work with MF Grimm on the "Good Morning Vietnam" trilogy (undoubtedly one of the finest projects this side of 2010). The next series he started was "Boxcutter Brothers" together with legendary producer Ayatollah who casual fans at least knows from hits like "Ms. Fat Booty" but for sure has put in WORK throughout the years. Together they have created what is now a trilogy of excellent instrumentals for us to bop our heads to, write rhymes to or just free think to. The third installment in the series has landed and can be purchased in digital format via Bandcamp, or in physical format directly from Vendetta Vinyl. The fourteen track project features half of the joints produced by D and the other half by 'Tollah but it does not sound disjointed as they have gone for a coherrent sound. It has been out for a while but now you can stream the entire project before decididing to purchase. Be sure to support the realness.

[Stream] K-DEF - "The Unpredictable Gemini" / "The Way It Was"

A few posts down I talked about hip-hop and the celebration of mediocricity and how it is bringing the culture down like never before. One of the artists that is the very definition of quality and original hip-hop music that's still heavily rooted in the musical traditions is New Jersey's finest producer, K-DEF, a producer I have championed probably more than any other since I started The Lost Tapes back in 2010. I've been a fan for years and as much as I love his classic sample based boom bap production of the '90s as part of the House Of Hits team with Marley Marl (the LP that truly put me on to his work was Tragedy Khadafi's underrated sophomore album "Saga Of A Hoodlum"), I must say that his huge output of both instrumental and vocal projects that his signing with Redef Records back in 2011 has showcased has really become the heart of his long career in my humble opinion. The way he manages to create some of the most musical and best orchestrated/arranged hip-hop productions entirely without the use of samples is nothing short of mindblowing and is the ultimate proof of the old question of man or machine when it comes to lacing banging shit.

Though I miss his production for other artists (which throught the years have included classics and overlooked gems for Ghostface Killah, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Lords Of The Underground, LL Cool J, World Renown and many, many more) his solo output with records such as "One Man Band", "Night Shift", "The Exhibit", the "Sneak Shot" and "For Def's Sake" EP that has really solidifed his place as one of the top 10 hip hop producers of all time. Following in the footsteps of all those aforementioned albums and EP:s, heavily arranged and well thought out original instrumental compositions that avoids the reliance of samples (and live instrumentation too for that matter!), 'Def and Redef has again teamed up for what sounds like a future classic of an album that dropped today. "Double Gemini" includes no less than 20 instrumental joints that flows together very well as a proper album, and includes an excellent bonus vocal cut featuring AG and Damu The Fudgemunk. Available on vinyl, CD and digital (including a free preview stream which you can check out below) as I'm listening now, and with the risk of sounding like a dick rider, I can't find enough good things to say about this... 

And as if that wasn't enough the label/producer is also releasing a second full-lenght project at the same time (both are available on separate vinyl/digital and as a double CD featuring both)! The second project is entitled "The Way It Was" and is an inspiring look to the past, featuring never before released instrumentals mostly conjured up in the '90s when K-Def was still working the MPC and sampling jazz, soul and funk. Aside from classics like De'1's "Uneke", World Renown "How Nice I Am", Mic Geronimo's "For The Family" and a never before heard instrumental that was considered by KRS-One for inclusion on "Return Of The Boom Bap" the compilation also comes strapped with three (to my knowledge) previously unreleased 2010 tracks with Blu. Head over to Redefinition Records to order the CD including both albums or the separate vinyl editions of each LP while you stream the projects through their Official Bandcamp.

 

[Stream] J DILLA - "DILLATRONIC"

This one right here is one that I've been really fiending to hear since it was first announced last month. While I've been delving deep into all those leaked Dilla beat tapes and CD:s that's been passed around over the years much of the music on those discs are too dope not to get an official release. The stuff that was released through the ridiciously expensive "King Of Beats" box set last year focused on beats that Jay Dee crafted during the second half of the '90s and presented joints lifted from tapes such as "What Up Doe! Sessions", "Steroid Boosters" (a.k.a. "Another Batch") and other, to fans, yet unavailable sources. "Dillatronic" instead zooms in on the latter part of Dilla's esteemed career while offering up a selection of his more stripped down, electronics flavoured "48 Hours"/Jaylib-esque work.

While many of these have already been cherished by hardcore fans via leaks like the five volumes of "2002 Batches" and "Da 1st Installment" they are here presented for the first time in any official capacity... and they sonically sound much better than we have heard them before! In my opinion you can't really go wrong with 41 selections of astro-nomica-nomica-nomical Dilla beats to break your neck to so this is a very welcome release. Stream the full thing via Pitchfork below while you head over to the Dillatronic Webstore and support for the cause. Undoubtedly a stronger release than either the dissapointing "Rebirth Of Detroit" or the aforementioned "The King Of Beats" set ... TURN IT UP!! A LITTLE LOUDER!!

"DILLATRONIC" @ PITCHFORK

J. ROCC Mix of PETE ROCK's "PeteStrumentals II"

The legendary DJ J. Rocc of The Beat Junkies always deliver straight heat when he gets on the turntables and crossfader, and this latest free mix is certainly no exception. As you know Pete Rock hooked up with Mello Music Group to finally release the long awaited sequel to his classic "PeteStrumentals" project (2001), an album that he's been promising in interviews since at least 2011. While the project fails to live up to it's predecessor Pete certainly didn't disappoint and at the moment it's one of my most played LP's. J. Rocc certainly liked it as well as he takes his favorite instrumentals of it and creates a seamless 20 minutes mix that stands on its own as a real smooth head nod inducer. Check it out below and make sure to cop "Petestrumentals II" if you haven't already!

[Album] PETE ROCK - "Petestrumentals 2"

I've been listening to this from front-to-back no less than three times today, The Soul Brother just came through and delivered his best record in about ten years or so. Released today via Mello Music Group, this is one of the first true must-buys for me this year, every minute of it is absolutely marvelous. Following the formula of the first "PeteStrumentals" (an album that I ranked as the third best album released during the first decade of the 2000s), Pete has dug deep into his old DATs and floppy discs to unearth previously unreleased beats from the '90s, created on his trusted SP1200, and fizzling with soul, jazz, and funk influences. The music has then been remixed, touched up and rearranged by Pete for its 2015 release, a combination that gives listeners the best of two worlds. Every single track is just groovy as hell, and a welcome addition is the huge amount of small musical interludes that are as dope as the actual songs themeselves. If you're not feeling this you are probably dead already. MMG, in usual order, let you stream the entire project for free before purchasing it in your choice of CD, digital or gatefold 2xLP. Guess what my choice will be? As Dilla probably says in heaven right now, TURN IT UP!!!

[Coming Soon] MILES DAVIS - "The Bootleg Series 4"

Yes I am aware that this is a site focusing on true school hip-hop at it's finest, but next to hip-hop my two favorite artists are without a doubt jazz legends Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Columbia Legacy has been milking the shit out of Miles' legacy, reissuing and remastering pretty much everything he recorded for the label and putting it out again and again. However, in 2007 they begun a genius series when they released the first installment in "The Bootleg Series", a series of beautiful box sets for the first time featuring previously unreleased Miles' concert sets spread out over 4 discs (two of the three sets so far have included a beautiful and clean DVD of a Davis Quintet performance). These are always a definite purchase for me and a great addition to the collection, even if I'm low on cash.

The first volume was a great document of 5 sets of Miles playing with his so called Second Great Quintet (Miles, Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams, Ron Carter, Wayne Shorter) at George Wein's Newport Jazz Festival in 1967. Volume 2 was the first official Sony release of the so called "Lost Quintet" (Miles, Wayne Shorter, Jack DeJohnette, Dave Holland, Chick Corea) recorded in 1969 and spread over three CD:s and one DVD where the music was getting more and more free with only Miles reigning in the band for his very tight trumpet solos and themes. Volume 3 was a personal favorite of mine as it featured four CD:s of Miles after his transition into the "rock-jazz fusion"  and was recorded at Bill Graham's rock club The Fillmore East over four nights in June 1969. A heavily edited verison of these four nights had been released as "Miles @ The Fillmore" in 1970 with about 20 minutes kept from each night - and Teo Macero editing out a lot of good stuff that for the first time was heard for full here. These four discs was filled to the damn limit with agressiveness and rawness that at the time probably left a lot of jazz listeners scratching thier heads at the time Miles now had two keyboards in his band, which added a lot of coloring to the music - Keith Jarret (Organ) and Chick Corea (Rhodes), plus Steve Grossman on Soprano Sax (to be honest I have no clue how he got to tour with Miles, I never cared the least for him),

Since each  Volume has followed the chronological order I was expecting the 4th installment to be a collection of Miles concerts from his Japanese tour in 1975 with Miles, Mtume, Pete Cosey, Reggie Lucas, Sonny Fortune and Al Foster that produced the axcellent international live albums "Agharta"and "Pangaea" and countless bootleg recordings. This is my favorite Miles band, the sheer intensity and agressivity is just something most so called hard rock musicians couldn't handle. But now "The Bootleg Series Volume 4" has been anounced via Miles Davis official website at Legacy Recordings and instead of following the chronological order, this one takes it back right to the beginning for Miles and Columbia. "Miles Davis at Newport 1955-1975" is a four disc CD that follows Miles Davis and his various qunitets through the years 1955 to 1975 during 8 concert sets. I guess that since Volume One did include all five sets from 1967 from Newport that year will not be featured. Some cool trivia is that Miles Davis was kind of down and out of the jazz scene by the early '50s due to heavy heroin addiction, showing up late or not at all to gigs, etc. By 1955 he had kicked the habit at his father's cabin, cold turkey, and when he was invited up as part of an all star set that also featured Thelonious Monk (piano), Zoot Sims (tenor sax), Gerry Mulligan (baritone sax), Percy Heath (bass) and Connie Kay (drums) he performed the lead on the Monk composition "Round 'Bout Midnight" to standing ovations, definitely signing off that Miles was back with a venegance. Columbia producer George Avakian who was in the crowd that night immediatly rushed backstage and signed the trumpeter on the spot for a rather, for the time being, large sum, Miles first LP for Columbia would singal this performances importance as the album lead off with "Round About Midnight" and was even titled as such and immediatly became a bestseller. This box set will be another must buy for any serious Miles Davis collector like myself, as it follows the musical legends importance and transformation as an artist over a 20 year period. Rolling Stone got the honor to stream a preview of a 1966 performance of "Stella By Starlight" performed with the Second Great Quintet (mentioned above), which is an incredible take on the slow moving love ballad that Victor Young originally wrote. Two minutes in the band transforms it almost into unrecognizability, as Ashley Kahn tells Rolling Stone how the Quintet transforms the slow jam into a "high speed chase discarding any notion of mainting emotional consistency and reverence...". Take a listen below and pre-order the box at Amazon or iTunes which hits stores on July 17.

[Throwback] K-DEF - "Willie Boo Boo 'The Fool'" (2006)

 Friends of The Lost Tapes know that I've been following the career of K-Def since the mid-to-late-'90s, way before he signed to Redefinition Records and started releasing impeccable instrumental LP:s. His first fully instrumental album was the masterpiece 42 piece suite known as "Willie 'Boo Boo' The Fool" that dropped in 2006 on the small indie label Redline Music Distribituion. Of course I have the vinyl at home, but since it's unfortunately out of print at the moment, fans can at least still enjoy the exqusite beats, breaks, and grooves thanks to K-Def's recently started Bandcamp page where he has uploaded the project in full (the LP version contained 25 songs, whle the CD edition featured the full 42 songs experience). This plays like a true instrumental hip-hop masterpiece, with K-Def flipping some of the most wonderful and well known samples in the game, and giving his own take on what made songs like Ghostface's "Mighty Healthy" and so much more. This is an album that is best enjoyed in headphones, just play play on the first track and let the 60 minutes of funk, soul and hp-hop take you to another planet of beats. Highlights include the straight up unbelivable "Axel's Replay" and "Ike's Replay" just to name a few, but you're best of listening to this from front-to-back. Though it's out-of-print by now, you can still enjoy it by copping the digital HQ version from K-Def's Bandcamp which of course also makes you a supporter of K-Def and the hard work he put into this project. By far one of the best LP:s of 2006 and if you haven't heard this yet, be glad that you still got the chance and hit play!

[EP] K-DEF - "Quick Picks"

 New Jersey's own K-DEF is not only one of the most underrated producers that we hip-hop lovers have, he's also one of the most prolific. Recently he started his Bandcamp, giving fans the opportunity to buy his musc in digital format directly from the man himself as well as stream and preview entire album. Most of the music on the site is records he's done with Redefinition Records, but there's also some exclusive ones. First we heard his new single with Pauly X, "Street Demon", that was damn good and now he unleashes an exclusive instrumental tape on our asses called "Quick Picks". Featuring 10 instrumentals all produced and mixed by 'Def, here's what the producer had to say about the subject - "This is a quick selection of tracks I had laying around. Some interesting instrumentals for the listener". Indeed .... Visit K-Def's Bandcamp for a whole lot of other good shit, like the Signature Seven Series, "Looking For The Perfect Break" 1+2, "One Man Band" and much more.

[Out Now] AYATOLLAH & DRASAR MONUMENTAL - "Boxcutter Brothers II"

Vendetta Vinyl keeps on bringing MAD heat to the table, the latest quality release from the label is the second installment in the "Box Cutter Brothers" series. The brothers is a group formed by Drasar Monumental and Ayatollah and just like its predecessor the LP consists of six instrumentals each by the two beat heads. Heavy chops, ill compositions and sliced up instrumentals are guaranteed! Cop the album ASAP @ VendettaVinylVietnam.com.

In case you haven't heard Volume 1 yet, it is still available from Vendetta Vinyl and Drasar's Bandcamp, where you can also preview it in its entirety.

PETE ROCK - "Heaven & Earth"

The third single from my most anticipated album of the year is here. I'm talking about the single "Heaven & Earth" from Pete Rock's upcoming sequel to "PeteStrumentals", his 2001 album that still ranks as a career highlight in the super producers long line of classic albums. Just like the first the album is made up of previously unreleased early- to- mid-'90's beats concocted by Pete that has been revamped for the 21st century. So far three singles have been released and they are all sounding iLL, with this one possibly being the best one yet. Watch out for the LP that drops June 22 via Mello Music Group!

[Album] ALCHEMIST - "Israeli Salad"

Alchemist, the most productive producer in the game right now, is back with a sort of semi-sequel to his "Russian Roulette" album (which I enjoyed thoroughly once I managed to really get into it). Rather than digging through Russian and Balkan records for sample material, this time ALC digs his crates for Israelian folk music, psychadelic and all other types of crazy music. Another difference between the two projects is that this one is 100% instrumental, whereas its predecessor featured some very welcome features which I would have loved to see on this one as well, but it still got some banging tracks for sure. Apparantly much of the album was recorded in 2011, so it and "Russian Roulette" was probably almost recorded simultaneously it seems, as the superb producer first started working on it after a trip back from Israel where he had acquired loads of new music. Last year, after another trip to Israel, Alchemist put the finishing touch on the album and decided it was time for it to be released. You can stream the entire project via Spotify below, or cop the LP set @ UGHH.

[Out Now] AYATOLLAH & DRASAR MONUMENTAL are THE BOX CUTTER BROTHERS

As I often say when I realized that I had completely forgot to post a gem, its always better late than never, and especially when it's a relative new release from Drasar Monumental and Vendetta Vinyl who has supported The Lost Tapes for years now and the love is definitely 100% monumental. The labels main producer Drasar Monumental of course proved with his album/EP trilogy with MF Grimm that he's one of the most forward thinking producers doing it at the moment, while never losing his ear for true Golden Age boom bap. He's been putting out some excellent mixtapes a long the way, featuring illy remixes and such, but  now we are finally getting a brand new release from the man on Vendetta Vinyl.

Entitled "The Boxcutters Brothers" the twelve track album is a joint effort between Drasar and equally incredible legendary producer Ayatollah who provides six instrumentals each (one side of an LP), featuring nothing but "heavy chops, ill compositions, and 12 sliced up instrumentals for you to rock out with". The full title of the album is "Ayatollah & Drasar Monumental are The Box Cutter Brothers - Heavy chops, ill compositions, and Sliced Up Instrumentals" and is available for order via VendettaVinylVietnam.com now while they are still available. Peep the back cover with tracklist below.

[Video]] PETE ROCK - "Cosmic Slop"

Pete Rock hits us with the second single from his much anticipated sequel to "PeteStrumentals" and it's fucking slamming. Titled "Cosmic Slop", the album hits stores via Mello Music Group on June 23. Clearly one of the definite purchases of 2015!

[Instrumental EP] RAY WEST + OC - "Ray's Café"

D.I.T.C. affiliated producer Ray West's underground label Red Apples 45 keeps dropping quality records from the Bronx. Mainly releasing great music in limited editions on cassette, vinyl LP:s, 12"s and 7"s and the occassional CD, mainly focusing on underground legends like AG, OC, Ray West, Roc Marciano, and John Robinson. Last year Ray West hooked up with one of my all time favorite emcees in Omar Credle for the jazz themed "Ray's Café", a ten track offering that made my countdown of the best albums of 2014. As excellent this project is and how immensely dope the chemistry between West's production and O's lyrical exercises it's a fun thing to hear the instrumental version of the thirteen track Deluxe Edition which really makes you appreciate the superbly crafted work Raya West put into this project. Stream the project for free below and cop a digital HQ version of the album @ RedApples45 Bandcamp.

[Coming Soon] K-DEF - "Tape Two"

The Lost Tapes love K-DEF simple as that, the New Jersey born producer is one of the few working artists today that I pretty much cop everything from (at least when my economy allows it). I first became aquianted by this genius producer from his work with Marley Marl back in the mid-'90s, and he has laced classics for Tragedy Khadafi, Ghostface Killah, UGK, Mic Geronimo, Ol' Dirty Bastard, LL Cool J, Diddy and so many more. And that's not even mentioning his own group with Larry-O; Real Live, who released one of those truly slept-on mid-'90s masterpiece in "The Turnaround". Last year he released "Tape One" (on cassette and vinyl) via his new home Redefinition Records, featuring previously unreleased beats from 'DEF recorded between 1989 and 1993. While it wasn't one of his strongest releases, it sure made for an interesting listen. Redef is currently selling out the original cassette tape edition for as cheap as 5 USD. 

Now the mastermind behind classics such as "Funky Child", "Funkadelic Relic", "Year Of The Hip Hop", "It's Over" and "It's Getting Hot RMX" is preparing a second installment in his "Tape" Volume series, and it might be closer to completion that you'd think. K-Def posted this on his Instagram and Facebook accounts a couple of days ago but finding that specific post seems to be a hassle so take my word for it. Take a listen to Volume One below in the meantime.

[DJ Mix] FATGYVER - "REDEF Mix" For MixMag

Since its inception a few years ago, John Nortarfrancesco and Earl Davis' (a.k.a. Damu The Fudgemunk) indie label REDEF Records has really grown into one of the strongest and most unique places for fat underground hip-hop - with a lean towards instrumental records. Their roster includes beat masters like K-DEF, Damu The Fudgemunk, Supa Dave West and Kev Brown as well as international talents such as Germany's Klaus Layer and Finland's Fatgyver (also known under his drum'n'bass alias Fanu). The latter was asked to show his DJ talents and compile a one hour long mix of some of REDEF Records finest moments exclusively for legendary dance magazine MixMag. There's a lot of goodies here and whether or not you're already familiar with the catalouge you should definitely press play, just sit back, relax and enjoy. You can download the mix for free here.

And while we're at it, in case you haven't yet heard Fatgyver's 2015 REDEF debut, the boom bap smelling jazz-funk of "Talk to Strangers" you can stream the entire project below, via Redef's Bandcamp where you can also cop a digital HQ copy for 7$. Smoooooth....

[DJ Mix] FLYING LOTUS - "Radio BBC1 Mix"

Flying Lotus is by far one of the most interesting artists out there at the moment if you ask me, and lately I've been listening a lot to his albums and his work with the Brainfeeder camp. Every now and then he pops up on the BBC Radio 1 channel to drop a crazy deep mix of classic beat records, jazz and his own music.  His latest drop was on the 12th of March for a two hour set that also includes a short guest mix from Jonny Greenwood (would love to hear a studio collaboration between those two). You got nine days left to listen so Hurry Up and BUY!

FLYING LOTUS @ BBC RADIO 1 2015

[Out Now] AYATOLLAH - "Who Is My Soul Brother?"

I remember when I first heard Ayatollah, or DJ Kool G as I think he was credited as then, on Mos Def's "Ms. Fat Booty" and was just blown away on all levels. I mean it was absolutely ridicilous how the soul just poured out of this man's sampler and since then he has rarely dissapointed me to this day. Any time I see his name in the linear notes I know that he's likely to have one of the hottest joints on the project. From his early days with Rawkus, he has released albums on Nature Sounds, Elementality, Green Streets Entertainment, his own 'Tollah Music, and now he has hooked up with Day By Day Entertainment. The result is a 13 track instrumental album titled "Who is My Soul Brother?". As for now it's a digital release only, so purchase it over @ iTunes. It is also available via Spotify so if you are a registered user (and if you are not, what's your excuse?) you can stream the album in full below.

01. "While You Run The Street"

02. "Duppy Connquer"

03. "Rich & Black"

04. "Girl, You're My Everything"

05. "The Battle Of The Locusts"

06. "Hold Yourself Together, Aight B"

07. "In The Summertime"

08. ""Lock The Pain Up"

09. "Alex"

10. "The Microphone"

11. "The Power Of Christ That Compels You"

12. "Have You Seen Wendee"

13. "Now's The Fucking Time" [Explicit]

Stream AYATOLLAH - "WHO IS MY SOUL BROTHER?" @ Spotify

Purchase AYATOLLAH - "WHO IS MY SOUL BROTHER?" @ iTunes