Exmag: Proportions Review

Exmag- Proportions

Lowtemp: 2014

Exmag is a group based out of Brooklyn and shortly after signing to Gramatik’s Lowtemp record label late last year, they released their debut album Proportions for free online. The project captures all the elements of the neo-soul, jazz-hop, dance/house, and funk genres with a tasteful and approachable method of delivery.

Although they aren’t getting played on the radio with the rest of the popular rubbish, the group has definitely made a splash in the contemporary music scene, receiving high praise from a parade of jazz, electronic, hip hop, funk, soul, and fusion listeners all over the world. Some of the singles on this record possess the knack to top hip-hop and pop charts globally, but the mainstream recognition of the group is slow to come. However, I believe fame will have no trouble finding these talented musicians as their following continues to grow. They are cleverly executing a groove that has one mission: making the listener move. One would be hard pressed to make it through the album without tapping a toe or submitting to a rhythmic head nod. 

The feel of this album is one of danceability and groove, and the listener is hit with that vibe instantly. The opening track on Proportions is entitled, “True love from the Future.” The song begins with a very open synth chord that rings out warmly while the guitar player sparsely plucks out a few chord tones. This interaction welcomes listeners with warm tones and an easy to follow 2/4 groove. This means the hardest hits are on beats two and four of each measure, which is a common occurrence in dance music. The song continues to build with more funky layers and effects through the climax of the song, where we hear the album’s first lyrics: “Am I hearing voices… or is this true love from the future?” This lyric speaks loudly, and captures the attention of listeners effectively. It is something for us to savor and digest as listeners.

Proportions is true love in the present. It’s blend of live and electronic instrumentation is flawless and adds to the project’s overall funkiness. The track “NuFunk Odyssey,” does this well. It begins with a blues guitar lick, backed by another chugging guitar riff that fades out and fades back in as a synthesized bassline. This subtle change, and others like it, build new layers onto the groove and keep the listeners interested for the full eight minutes. The group plays well at infusing different layer additions which is crucial when creating polyrhythms-- the spine of the groove’s body. The groove is fully embodied throughout the rest of the album. This is something we can rely on with this group. Listeners can count on Exmag to cradle them safely in the pocket. They will not let the groove die or get boring. 

Within Proportions there are three hot singles, “Creep Steady Part 1,” “Juke,” and “Tilt Mode,” featuring Gibbz. These two songs accompany a handful of other tracks that spur certain groove ignition. “Proportions,” “Junk In That Thang,” “We Run Shit,” and “Persian Temptress,” are certain to have hips shaking and toes tapping if not to inspire a full on dance party. Their use of hard basslines, disco drums, synth, and repetition are all keys to filling the dance floor. 

Exmag incorporates a lot of ideas from jazz, blues, and disco throughout Proportions which may explain the urge to dance while listening. The group’s ability to adopt and foster the elements of other musics into their own creation is unique and highly relatable to listeners of all types. Although they are not currently circulating in the mainstream or the “top 40” people who like music on that scene would still enjoy Exmag. It matters not where a band comes from when they groove like this. If “Tilt Mode” got a mainstream screening 14 year-old girls would most likely end up reciting the lyrics or singing along. Proportions’ frame of appeal is vast but shrouded by the underground music scene. One day soon they will shine above the surface for all to see.

Exmag has put Proportions out there for the music world to bump and grind, jive and slide, or groove and ride. Download it for free and surrender to the groove. 

http://www.mediafire.com/download/zfxpfa9zkd0as3f/Exmag+-+Proportions+%28Full+Album%29.zip

Review: Salad Days - Mac Demarco

Noah: Salad Days, out April 1^st, is the sophomore return of the Canadian multi-instrumentalist Mac Demarco. The artist is probably most famous for his eccentric performances (see: sticking his thumb up his butt in a middle of a concert), so when sorting this album into my iTunes summer playlist, I had a hard time categorizing his often spontaneous and erratic style; Do I call it jingle pop? Nah, brings too many Beach Boys comparisons. Psychedelic indie rock? I guess, but it has a sunny sound that doesn't tie it to the often confusing and dark soundscape of many modern psych acts. Schizo synth rock? I don't even know if that sub-genre exists... It's unmistakably Demarco-ish, if that means anything at all.

   
Writing up this review, I mistakenly called Demarco 'Californian' several times before I double-checked his wikipedia. The guy comes from British Columbia, but his music is so sun drenched that it's easy to make that error. Mac's first LP, '2', was on constant repeat during 2012 for me. A quarter through 2014, i'm still jamming out to it in the car, in the library, in bed, and while I play Playstation. It's happy mood music, and puts you in the best possible mind-set to start the day. So understandably, when Demarco first teased Salad Days, I absolutely lost my shit.

   
The intro and title track starts up on my iTunes queue, and I can't help but grin. Demarco plays all of his studio album and concerts with a shitty little childrens guitar he picked up at a garage sale (literally, at a garage sale), and the cheesiness of that little shitty guitar rings true. It sounds slightly out of tune, but in such an appealing way that you cant help but imagine the track being played at a Hawaiian beach party. Jumping into 'Blue Boy' right away, that same slightly off pitch guitar shines through. Mac's voice is sleepy, yet alert... But nobody is really listening to this album for lyrical content. They're listening to have a really fucking good time. “You’re better off dead, when your mind’s been set from nine until five” Demarco croons on 'Brother', and these lyrics definitely are true to the slacker attitude of the LP .

   
'Let My Baby Stay' is a typical Demarco love song, set to some soft strokes of his guitar. “I was made to love her, been working at it/Half of my life, i've been an addict” he sings, and I felt almost like Demarco had hit my brains g-spot. I wanted to pass out, but not out of boredom; the track is so tranquil. What sets the song apart from the others, though, is not its content, but its place alongside the next track. As the last stroke of the guitar and Demarco's wailing fades out, a jarring synthesizer breaks out with a hypnotically rhythmic and warm tone that signifies the start of 'Passing Out Pieces'. This track is SO fucking good. I'm so goddamn obsessed. In the last day alone, i've made excuses to take showers just so that I can stand in the warm water and listen to this song on repeat. Sadly, the next track ('Treat Her Better') is a snoozefest compared to the energy that 'Passing Out Pieces' provides. It's a shame that Demarco couldn't expand on that warm tone.

   
Nearing the end of the short LP (only 11 songs), there are a couple of standouts. 'Chamber of Reflection' provides more of the warm synths that make 'Passing Out Pieces' a standout, albeit a lack of energy. The last two tracks, 'Go Easy and 'Jonny's Odyssey', end the album in a confident and positive mood. But by the time the last song faded out, I couldn't help but be sad. Who knows when we'll get more Demarco? I don't know if I can wait another two years like I did for Salad Days. In the meantime, i'll be sitting poolside, jamming out to some shitty garage sale guitar tunes. This album is a must listen for any indie rock (or plain indie music) fans.

PROS: Lots of character. Instrumentals are the absolute star of this album, and Demarco is a damn good lyricist, too. Each track has a personality, and you can put this LP on shuffle and jam out any time, any mood. You have the moody tracks, the happy tracks, the upbeat anthems, the slow jams. Overall good ass vibes.

CONS: Sometimes the order of the tracks can be jarring. Super upbeat songs next to oddly slow ones, and vice versa. Not a harsh criticism.

9.5 shitty garage sale guitars/10 shitty garage sale guitars. SUPPORT THE ARTIST!!!

2014 is going to be a pretty huge deal for De La Soul

In case you missed it, De La Soul has a kick ass year in store for us. Besides releasing their entire discography for free on valentines day, De La announced that it they would be releasing a full length LP this year as well as an EP (produced entirely by Pete Rock and DJ Premier) and their recent Dilla-produced mixtape "Smell the Da.I.S.Y." which you can download here, or from BitTorrent (which gets you a whole bundle of De La/Dilla goodness along with the mixtape).

Smell the Da.I.S.Y. (which stands for "Da Inner Soul of Yancey," referring to J Dilla's real name, James Dewitt Yancey), features reworked classic De La lyrical content over some unreleased Jay Dee instrumentals. While a few fans were disappointed with this concept, I personally think it's awesome (and nowhere near as bad as that Q-tip/Busta Rhymes The Abstract and the Dragon debacle last year). It's good to see that De La is back. It's still the D.A.I.S.Y. age, yo! Keep an eye out for our coverage of these upcoming De La Soul projects as they release.

The Black Keys Release New Single "Fever"

It's been a minute since we've heard from the Akron, Ohio alt-rock duo The Black Keys. Comprised of guitarist/vocalist Dan Auerbach and Drummer Patrick Carney, The Black Keys are known for their signature low-fi, filtered, blues heavy garage rock which is at its aesthetic best when it's being blasted at high volumes out of shitty car speakers. The Key's last album, the critically acclaimed El Camino, came out almost a little over two years ago (can you believe that?) and, since it's release, the Keys had gone uncharacteristically silent (aside from that huge tour that they did). That silence ended earlier today, when the duo released "Fever" a single from their upcoming project Turn Blue.

You can listen to the song below, but be warned; the video will hypnotize you (actually if you are prone to seizures, I would avoid actually watching the video and turn it on in the background, while you do something else).

Free Release: Mo Kolours self titled LP "Mo Kolours"

If you're not up on your UK-based, underground, alternative-soul (and that's most of us here in the US), then it's very likely that you've never heard of Mo Kolours. When I stumbled across the Producer/Singer/Percussionist earlier today, I really had no clue what to expect. When I clicked play on "Brixton House," the first track of his first full LP, the self titled Mo Kolours, I was greeted by a drum beat that instantly reminded me of some of Ann Arbor based Shigeto's more minimalistic work, supplemented by an insanely smooth chord progression that captivated me for all of two and a half minutes of the track. On the next track, "Little Brown Dog" Mo shows off his singing chops, as well as an unusual but entrancing steel drum sample. I am unclear as to whether these were samples of his own sounds, or a traditional record chop, but either way Mo assembles his sounds in a beautifully messy way, constructing a cacophony that weaves in and out of mass discord, continuously assembling and dissembling itself. As the album progressed, I was also struck by how straightforward and unpretentious Mo's voice is. He sings each track like he has nothing to prove; there are little to no embellishments, save a warbling vibrato present in a few tracks.

As far as a lasting impression goes, I'll have to give a few more listens to Mo Kolours to get an idea of how long it will last me, but the LP has made a very good first impression.

Download the Mo Kolours LP here.

What We've Been Listening To - Week Of 3/21/2014

Every week, the Dynamicism staff takes a look back and talks about the albums that they have been listening to. We get to showcase albums that may not otherwise get attention on our blog. Below are the staff's weekly picks and, as always, I (Adlai) will add more as they come in.

Adlai: This past week has been insanely hectic, but I still got some time to enjoy some great music. I've had Piñata, the Madlib and Freddie Gibbs collaborative effort, on heavy rotation (check out our review), but otherwise I've been revisiting some of my favorite jazz albums of all time, most notably the classic Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. This was one of the first jazz albums I ever owned (I received it for Christmas in 2009, along with John Coltrane's A Love Supreme and Freddie Hubbard's Hubtones) and Miles Davis is certainly one of my earliest influences on my playing. On Kind of Blue, Davis plays with one the best lineups in the history of jazz. The horn section is padded out by John Coltrane on tenor and Julian "Cannonball" Adderley on alto and the rhythm section features Jimmy Cobb on drums and Paul Chambers on bass as well as both Bill Evans and Wynton Kelley on piano.

In addition to a great lineup, the album features an amazing sense of style and structure; the beautifully climactic ballad "Blue In Green" is sandwiched in between two blues songs, "Freddie Freeloader" and "All Blues," which in turn are bookended by two modal tunes, "So What" and "Flamenco Sketches," that begin and end the original album respectively. On the Legacy Edition, however, the album continues with a series of alternate takes, studio sequences and false starts that, while they are a neat novelty for the avid fan (which I certainly am), could be off-putting to the average listener. Really, I don't listen much past the original five tracks, but when I am, I am fascinated by the studio chatter and noodling of these legendary musicians. The real reason to own the "Legacy Edition," to me, is the second disc which is full of rare and overlooked cuts. Highlighting these are "On Green Dolphin Street" and "Stella By Starlight," which, while they did appear on the often overlooked 1958 Miles, serve to give the listener a sense of Miles transition from his earlier bebop style (like on Round About Midnight) to his new, more modern and modal preference.

Hazel: So I didn’t realize that everyone was introducing themselves during last week’s roundup - I’m Hazel, and I listen to a lot of alternative pop/folk and soul. I was asked to join the blog as an equalizer to the many hip-hopcentric reviewers. I also run Community High’s radio station, and have a show every Monday 8-9, should you be inclined to tune in. This week I’ve been listening to Cherub’s second album, MoM & DaD. The album isn’t one I listen to a lot as a whole, mostly I just dig certain tracks, Cherub has found their niche in 80s inspired electropop, reminiscent of fellow electropop artist Work Drugs’ earlier work. Cherub’s lead singer Jordan Kelly owns the falsetto, and many of the choruses on MoM & DaD have you straining to sing along to the high notes. “Doses and Mimosas,” my personal favorite track off the album, is dedicated to “All the bitch ass hoes who hate me the most.” It’s the ultimate fuck you anthem, and catchy as hell. Other notable tracks include “xoxo,” a cautionary tale of a cheating ex girlfriend, “All,” one of the slower tracks on the album, featuring the sultry voice of Natalie Press, and “Lynndenberries,” filled with ear candy harmonies. Cherub, while not as profound lyricists as, say Passion Pit, have succeeded in creating an album that’s fun to listen to, and great dance music. For any readers in the greater Michigan area, they’re playing at Saint Andrew’s Hall in Detroit this Friday, and they’re sure to be a fun concert.

Noah: Tastes change. Music is such a fluid, personal thing to many musicians and listeners, and I pride myself in being open minded to stylistic change and experimentation. Sometimes, this experimentation can be extremely hit or miss (ahem, Kid Cudi), but on occasion my casual listening can be intruded by eclectic genres and artists. This week has just been... one of those weeks, I could say. The Handsome Family's 2003 album Singing Bones is unmistakably country. From the wailing (literally wailing) saw in "24 Hour Store" to the deep vocal range of the singer, Brett Sparks, this album is a breath of fresh air. The husband-wife team of The Handsome Family can be undoubtably creepy at times, singing with a deep southern twang about loneliness and long lost love... But it's not supposed to be uplifting. It's supposed to be moody as hell, something you play in the background of a sensitive conversation in a desert convenience store parking lot. It's wild west desert music. I couldn't help but singing along to tracks such as "Gail With the Golden Hair," and nodding my head sleepily to "Far From Any Road," The latter might be recognized by some as the theme from "True Detective," and anyone who's seen the show would admit it's pretty spot on in creating a gloomy mood. For anyone interested in a slower change of pace, and an alternative country album of rare quality, check out Singing Bones.


\Hannon: I like an album that I can sing along to; which means the lyrics on the album have to be great, and Mat Cothran of Coma Cinema is a great lyricist. This past week I've been listening to his LP of 2013: Posthumous Release. I would describe it as indie-bedroom-rock. If that means nothing to you, then it's sort of like if you wanted the energy of a live indie rock band in your bedroom but didn't want to wake up your roommate across the hall. They have a very unique energy, with a smooth and sweet delivery which makes me keep this 11 track LP on repeat. One of my favorite tracks is called: "Satan Made a Mansion." There's a sort of mellow-depressive element in this delivery that gives the song an added beauty as the band jams hard behind him, emotions are contrasted. This song reminds me of his other cleverly named band: Elvis Depressedly. This band as the title suggests, takes on a lot of depressive vibes coupled with great lyrics and better melodies.

Another favorite on Posthumous Release is the album opener: "VHS White Trash," which makes me smile every time I see it. Although the song itself doesn't make me crack a smile, I really get down with the harmony and again- the lyrics are on point. "Sick refusing sleep- childhood lie in dreams- somewhere out of reach- safe from all bad feeling." 

So if your looking for some mellow beauty, Mat Cothran and Coma Cinema are all over it. I initially picked up this album on a recommendation from a friend and I'm quite pleased with the result. You can download it here. I'm not gonna get all preachy about name your price, but this album will be worth every cent of your contribution.

Erez: The one great advantage of having a huge iTunes library is that you forget about albums. This week, I was browsing through my artists when I stumbled upon the Digable Planets album Reachin' (A new Refutation of Time and Space). 

Digable Planets busted out on the scene with Reachin' as their debut album, showcasing their smooth and funky rhymes coupled with deeply jazzy beats. The year was 1993, Wu-Tang and ATCQ had both released landmark albums, while Snoop Dogg was being charged for murder. It was a complex time for Hip-Hop, with gangster rap rearing it's head and competing with fans of artists like ATCQ. Then, rising from the turmoil, came the Digable Planets. 

In Reachin', Digable Planets come through with what I consider to be a beautiful and hard-to-find sound in Hip-Hop. The whole album is produced by Butterfly, one third of the trio, and his production truly incorporates jazz in a way few producers, save Madlib or DJ Premier, have achieved. In the classic song Rebirth of Slick, a sample of an Art Blakey's song appears, with the horn theme almost made for sampling. However, Butterfly also chooses to employ Dennis Irwin's great bass line in the song, showing at least some mature perspective on jazz music. In What Cool Breezes Do, the same type of horn theme is used, giving the song a melody for the listener to grasp onto. Plus, the beats, while not too imaginative, are very tight, leaving room for the rapper to bounce around lyrically. Ladybug MEcca, the only woman in the group, delivers great flow throughout the album, partly because having a woman in the group is a nice refresher form the male-dominated hip-hop world at the time. Her voice is slightly sing-songy, which goes perfectly with the more melodic beats. of the album.

The rhymes are immensely clever, from the title track (butterfly uses the rhyme "others from our brother planet" a spoonerism referencing the classic John Sayles film). In the track, Appointment at the Fat Clinic, Dp is at their best, with a strong grooving beat with jazz organ samples and a live-sounding drum loop. Most of the rhymes on the album are standard Hip-Hop "rapping about our funky lives" kind of stuff, save for a few songs. However, the delivery, especially from Doodlebug, the third group member, has a jazz solo like feel, with the rappers bouncing their words with the beat, clipping words so that they sound like they're trying to be part of the surrounding drum loop. In Fat Clinic, the lyrics talk about chaining music, and there are some great jazz references, such as Ladybug alluding to the song "Straight No Chaser," and Doodlebug talking about young sax players having the ability to play Charlie Parker licks. In this album, the rhymes fit the beats, the beats fit the groove, the groove fits the style, and the style fits life. Enough said.

Kirikou: Grooves. Kirikou love grooves. Kirikou love to groove. I was digging and came upon a two dollar copy of Cheryl Lynn's self titled LP. I'm familiar with this record and most importantly with the opening track "got to be real", but I bought the record and have been back up on it the past few days. Not an amazing album through and through but at least you gotta check out the opening track. Serious banger grooves. The rather hard to find classic old school track "How We Gonna Make the Black Nation Rise" by Brother D and The Collective Effort is recorded over "Got To Be Real". Other tracks are worth checking out but I'll let you do that. Nuff Said. This album is serious heat.

Top Dog Entertainment CEO Announces an Insane Release Schedule for the Rest of 2014

The CEO of Top Dog Entertainment took to Twitter earlier today to announce that new albums from Ab-Soul, Jay Rock and Kendrick Lamar will release in the remainder of 2014.

2014 has already seen the release of ScHoolboy Q's Oxymoron in February, the first of what is now known as the "TDE Takeover."

While each of the TDE members have released at least one generally acclaimed project, perhaps best known is Kendrick Lamar, who gained a huge mainstream following after the 2012 release of Good Kid, M.A.A.D City. Although we are certainly looking forward to the releases from Ab-Soul and Jay Rock, we are most excited to see how Kendrick can expand on his 2012 magnum opus. 

Check out the CEO's tweet here and make sure to keep up on Dynamicism, as we will most definitely be covering the TDE releases as they come.

Review: Piñata - Freddie Gibbs & Madlib

Adlai: Ever since the 2004 release of the classic Madvillainy, the infamous collaboration between producer Madlib and emcee MF DOOM, fans of the prolific producer have been waiting patiently for the his next great collaborative work. This being true, the release of Piñata, almost exactly a decade after Madvillainy (only 5 days short of a decade, Madvillainy was released on March 23rd, 2004), brought with it a whole host of expectations (and roller coaster riders). As quite a few fans have observed, Madlib's collab with Freddie Gibbs is the first time since Madvillainy that Madlib has worked with an emcee that is as talented a rapper as Madlib is a producer. For those who are unfamiliar with Freddie Gibbs, he's a hugely talented rapper hailing from Gary, Indiana (but living in L.A.), who many have compared to the legendary Tupac Shakur (dude even looks a bit like him). However, even concerning the sheer amount of talent going into the project, some people were still unconvinced; it happens far too often, especially in the world of Hip-hop, that the sum of two parts ends up far below what it should be. That made the release of Piñata an exciting yet tense prospect for many fans. If MadGibbs meshed and played off of one another, the album would have the potential to soar to Madvillainy heights. If, however, the pair failed to create chemistry, the album would be a massive disappointment to fans.

Now I'm not here to tell you what you already know, so I'll just get this out of the way; Piñata is an exceptional product, fusing Madlib's smooth production with the classic Gibbs tough talk almost perfectly. You will be disappointed if you were hoping for Piñata to be the second coming of Madvillainy (since it looks like that isn't happening any time soon). Piñata is a gangsta rap album in the tradition of gangsta rap albums; money, cars, drugs, guns, women and thugs, it's all here, wrapped up in the one-two punch that is the MadGibbs duo.

The album starts with a 49 second long skit called "Supplier," done in the classic Madlib style, with a looped drum beat backing up the sampled movie/interview. After that, though, there's only one other song that comes in under 2 minutes. The rest of the album is the polar opposite of Madvillainy; 3-5 (and one 8) minute songs about the thug life, with hooks and repeated thematic ideas. Those worried that MadGibbs would be a mismatch need not worry anymore. Gibbs voice beautifully complements the production and vice versa. The one perplexing moment for me was Mac Miller's verse on the title track, the 8 minute long "Piñata." His presence is as confusingly out of place as Vanilla Ice would be on a 2pac track. Ultimately, though, this is an extremely minor complaint as his inclusion on the album is balanced out by some great features including Raekwon, Earl Sweatshirt, Ab-Soul, BJ the Chicago Kid, Scarface and one of the best Danny Brown features I've ever heard. Bottom line is, Piñata is a great project. To compare it to Madvillainy would be to compare apples and oranges, but this comes as no surprise, since Madlib's ability to change styles is one rarely seen in music.

Notables: High (feat. Danny Brown), Harold's, Shitsville, Broken (feat. Scarface), Lakers (feat. Ab-Soul & Polyester The Saint), Shame (feat. BJ the Chicago Kid)

Less Notable: None, except for the two skits and MAYBE "Knicks"

Score: 9.5/10

Kirikou: Kirikou, like all other music heads was awaiting this album for a long time. And while it is a great album it did underwhelm me. Madlib can do no wrong in the hip-hop community and this is reinforced in this album’s production, making even the lyrical low points aurally pleasing. Gangsta Gibbs definitely shows up on this record too. Songs like “Broken” featuring Scarface, which details the systematic racism in America and its affect on low-income citizens, leading to his distrust of the government along with the confusing relationship with his father, an ex-cop. “Broken” also brings the album’s strongest feature from Scarface, who augments the concepts put forth by Gibbs. Gibbs’ strongest lyricism and concept construction is on the songs “Shitsville,”  “Deeper,” “Harold’s” and the beat-changing, shot-firing Jeezy diss track, “Real”. No song on this album sucks but the only thing that would bring me to keep the album playing for the title-posse-track, “Piñata” is the banging beat. Same goes for the relatively weak Danny Brown feature on
“High” and the good-vibe but fairly whack track “Lakers”, which both featured artists, Ab-Soul and Polyester the Saint add to greatly, let down only by the mediocrity of Gibbs’ sandwiching verses.

This album will definitely get bumped by yerboi consistently but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t more excited for the possible release of the instrumentals than anything. The conclusion I’ve come to is that in about half of the songs there is no driving reason to listen to them again for lyrical content – they don’t blow you away and are digestible in one listening, leaving you satisfied but not eager to hit repeat. THE OTHER HALF IS OFF THE FUCKING CHAIN THOUGH. So don’t get me wrong, this shit is ill.

Notables: Deeper, Harold's, Shitsville, Broken

Less Notable: Lakers, Knicks, Piñata and Danny Brown's verse on High

Score: 8/10

Noah: Sitting in-between Frank Ocean and Fuck Buttons in my iTunes library, Freddie Gibbs has always been similarly sorely out of place in the rap scene. Part of me wants to describe him as purist gangsta rap such as Tupac and GZA, while the other part of me wants to categorize him alongside party rappers such as Schoolboy Q and Kevin Gates (due to his consistent braggadocio subject matter). While this collaboration doesn't cement him into any particular style, the sounds of Gibbs and Dilla contemporary Madlib mesh genuinely well. I was surprised at times by the depth of lyrical content (something i've found to be rare for Gibbs), and that this album is cohesive throughout it's 17 tracks. My surprise quickly turned into reverence after a couple of listens, and I can confidently call this album one of my favorite releases this year (so far).

The soul and funk influences of 'Scarface' kick off the album, detailing Gibbs's smoky and white line-filled daily routine. Madlib shines through with the flipped high-pitched violins of "Deeper," before slipping into the fast paced 'Higher'. With a beginning reminiscent of 70's washing machine commercials and the metallic whine of playground swings, Gibbs and Danny Brown trade verses in a definite highlight of the project. Gibbs had featured on the track "The Return" off of Brown's 2013 LP Old, and Brown himself had admitted that Gibbs had bodied him on his own song. Hopefully this traded collaboration between the two will lead to some future projects.  "Real" is an absolutely devastating diss track against (formerly Young) Jeezy, detailing nearly every one of the rappers low career points. "Robes" (featuring the Odd Future members Domo Genesis and Earl Sweatshirt) provides a stunningly beautiful soul sample for the trio of rappers to run off of.

All of the tracks I have mentioned so far from the first part of the album were extremely impressive to me on a lyrical standpoint, but the second half of the project stand out in terms of production more so than Gibbs's delivery. During the second half, I do think that the drug and pussy talk get a bit stale. That would be a MUCH bigger complaint on a solo Gibbs project, but Madlib's constant playful flipping of the beats keep it interesting throughout. Tracks like "Shame" and "Robes" are not only standout tracks on this project, but probably in Gibbs's entire discography.

Notables: Robes (feat. Domo Genesis and Earl), Shame (feat. BJ the Chicago Kid), High (feat. Danny Brown), Lakers (feat. Ab Soul and Polyester the Saint), and Real

Less Notable: "Shitsville," "Knicks," "Watts (feat. Big Time Watts)"

Bottom Line: If you are a rap fan, you will 100% like this entire project. My "skippables"

 are mainly skippable due to their repetition, but I appreciate them for their creativity and their place in the narrative of the project. My main problems with this project have to do with Gibbs's repetition of lyrical content, but nonetheless, he is creative with his lyrics even when he basically says the same things… BUY this and support Gibbs and Madlib! 

Score: 9/10

Hannon: I was pretty much thrilled to get the leak for this album, as I had been awaiting its release. Madlib delivers again what can I say? My dude just does not put out bad music, and Piñata is no exception. The beats are smooth and groovy. The interludes are telling and comical - plus the vocal samples are hella soulful. This record has the west coast soul vibe I like to ride to - straight thuggin from beginning to end as gangsta rap is survived by none other than Freddie Gibbs. I can't ask much more from him. He raps about pimp shit, (money, hos, clothes, and shows) and he stays in the pocket so his flow hits hard. The only thing that is weak on this album are some of the features. Although I love the production on "Lakers" with the sample of Cannonball Adderley's: "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," Ab-Soul really failed me. And Polyester the Saint didn't really boost the caliber of the track either. The last track is another good example of bad features. Too little talent is spread over too much time and just leaves me wondering how in the hell Mac Miller got featured on a Madlib production?? 

Aside from the weak verses of featured artists on the last song, the feature of Danny Brown on "High" is definitely a highlight. I'm a big fan of the Detroit native and he doesn't disappoint- that track bangs! The other quality features come from Domo Genisis and Earl Sweatshirt on "Robes." They spit good verses over a great beat- there's nothing wrong with that. Last but not least the 'ol cyrus of this shit, Raekwon the Chef makes a solid 
appearance. That OG from the slums of Shaolin still got it!

Overall I enjoyed this record quite a bit and I definitely support Madlib and Gibbs for putting it out. Gibbs true thug passion keeps me entertained and the one and only Madlib delivers on another tremendous project. This is hot shit, so check it out, pick it up, ride to it.


Notables: High, Lakers, Scarface, Thuggin

Less Notable: Piñata, Knicks, Shitsville

Score: 8.5/10

Dynamicism Final Score: 8.75/10

Concert Review: Matt Wilson Quartet at Kerrytown Concert House

Last night, I spent a jazz-filled hour and a half at the Kerrytown concert house, listening to the Matt Wilson Quartet. In all honestly, it was one of the best jazz performances I’ve seen all year. The band was inspiring, intimate, and creative, coming up with a plethora of improvisational ideas over the course of the evening. Wilson’s instrumentation, with Chris Lightcap on Bass, Jeff Lederer on tenor saxophone and clarinet, and Kirk Knuffke on cornet, was way on point. Lightcap played with some of the best phrasing I’ve ever heard, Lederer soloed with so much conviction and energy its was palpable, and Knuffke managed to paint pictures with his sound. Still, Wilson stood out, partly because it’s just amazing to watch him play. Sure, he smiles and shouts encouragement like any other jazz cat, maybe even makes a funny face or two, but the real beauty is the way he handles the drums, making them look like an extension of his body. Every hit of a cymbal or snare looks effortless, but not the easy kind, the kind where the drum appears to know when his hand is going to hit and presents itself at the right moment. Wilson’s arms never seem to stop or jerk around, instead they are always moving in one fluid motion.

The highlights of the evening were an original composition, “Raga” and a rendition of Duke Ellington’s “You Dirty Dog.” For “Raga,” the song started with every member of the band playing tuned hand bells. It was one of those moments where it could either be completely boring and lose the audience’s attention, or they would pull something out at the end that made it all worth it. They went with the latter, exploding into a raucous klezmer-ish melody with Wilson playing everything from hand drums to brazilian cymbals. On Wilson’s extended solo, he literally explored every single sound on a tiny hand drum, using just his fingers and a single stick. At one point, he was just scraping the stick on the different surfaces of the drum, but he did it so rhythmically that it lost and gimmicky aspect and was received as genuine musical communication. On the Ellington piece, the band swung as hard as any, and the horns managed to stay modern with their sounds, not resorting to any boring blues riffs. 

The greatest part of the night was the way you could feel the bands energy, and they truly played for the audience. They were cracking jokes the whole time (at one point, Wilson put his foot on the snare drum to the change the tone while soloing, then stopped abruptly, made a funny comment about his socks, then kept on soloing). The Quartet hit that sweet spot in modern jazz, the spot where the audience actually understands what you’re playing and wants to listen to it.

-Erez

What We've Been Listening To - Week of 3/14/14

Welcome to the first official, (almost) all staff blog post on Dynamicism!

Within a few days, I (Adlai) have assembled an impressive host of writers. Currently, there are 8 contributors to Dynamicism, but the goal is to get that in to the double digits. The blog will continue to run through our "hiring process" though, so our post flow should continue. So, without any further ado, here's what our staff has been listening to this week:

Adlai: What's good, guys and gals? I'm Adlai, the creator of this blog. This past week, I've been listening to New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh By Erykah Badu. For those unfamiliar with Erykah, she's a Neo-Soul legend, who made her debut back in 1997 with the album Baduizm. With beautiful chords  and heavy drums and bass, Baduizm proved to be a Hip-hop infused classic for the Neo-Soul genre and served as a great introduction to Erykah's breezy style of singing. Since the release of Baduizm, Erykah has collaborated with an impressive roster including Madlib, J Dilla, Flying Lotus, Roy Hargrove and Robert Glasper.

On Return of The Ankh, Erykah works with an equally impressive cast. ?uestlove, James Poyser and Stephen Bruner (a.k.a. Thundercat) serve as the house band while production is handled by Dilla, Madlib and Karriem Riggins. This probably explains why there isn't really a "skipable" track on here, except for maybe the album opener, "20 Feet Tall," a track that meanders with forgettable chromatic up/down chord changes and a boring pentatonic piano line. After that, though, Return of the Ankh gets shit moving with "Window Seat," a song many may remember from its video (remember? The one where Erykah is walking down a busy sidewalk, stripping off her clothes?). Other highlights of the album include the third track, "Agitation," a short, driving, 6/4 track that serves as a spiritual successor to "On and On" from Baduizm with its repeated chorus of "what a day, what a day, what a day," "Gone Baby, Don't Be Long," an aurally satisfying track with production reminiscent of "Get Dis Money" by Slum Village, "Fall In Love (Your Funeral)," perhaps the funkiest track on the album, and, finally, the album's closer "Out My Mind, Just In Time," a track that starts as a Jazzy, piano/vocal duet waltz and then transitions into an eerie Hip-hop waltz accentuated by an uneasy descending piano loop. On each track of the album, Erykah rides the stellar production effortlessly, staying perfectly in the pocket the whole time making you want to nod your head and sing along.

Word. Here's the most of the rest. I'll add the others as they come in.


Hannon: Lemme just start with a, 'yo whaddup' to this beautiful baby of a blog; I gotta say I'm enthused about its creation. I'm Hannon Hylkema also known as ClarkBent. I'm a hip-hop head and a jazz cat with a taste for the majority of musical genres. I like to hear new sounds from people that I have and haven't heard before, but if it's slappin' I'm going to write about it on this blog.

This past week I've been bumpin' the styles of Killer Mike and El-P on their 2013 release: Run The Jewels. Every track features original productions by El-P which makes this album really easy to listen to. His style is his own. A filthy blend of electronic, trap, and flawless groove, El-P gives each of the 10 tracks on the album the high energy of a jam session. This producing genius is also gifted with the rap flow.

El-P does nothing but add to the steez of this album with his verses; but honestly Killer Mike is the true MC on this record. Mike's verses cut El-P's on every song. His delivery is confident, his punchlines are hot, and his rhyme scheme is flavorful. I consider this album to be one of the best 20 hip-hop albums in 2013. Every track deserves multiple listenings which is why it continues to blast in my headphones. Check it out here, it's FREE.

Hazel: Los Campesinos! released their latest album, No Blues this past October. While I highly recommend that people check that out, as it was a fantastic addition to their discography, their sophomore album, We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed (2006) contains some of the bands best songs, such as the title track - an energetic, highly sing-alongable, glockenspiel filled anthem this to a relationship sure to fail. Clever lyrics are absolutely the way to my heart, and Los Campesinos! have been front runners in this field since their very first album. Their songs take a few listens to decipher what the lead singer, Gareth Campesinos, is saying, due in equal parts to the speed with which he delivers them, and his thick Cardiff accent.

We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed is full of funny, honest breakup songs. "All Your Kayfabe Friends," the final track, is about a specialist foot fetish model, singing bitterly about how "I seduced your ex-boyfriend to help you get over him / You found him more attractive, if helped you get over me." Meanwhile, my personal favorite song "It's Never That Easy Though, Is It? (Song for the Other Kurt)" wonders whether it's worse "To see my ex-girlfriend / Who by the way I'm still in love with / Sucking the face of some pretty boy," or to see it all go down "With my favorite band's most popular song in the background." There's music for every season - Winter is 100% folk and 30s/40s oldies, and to me, Spring is catchy pop that you sing along to with the windows tentatively rolled down - Los Campesinos! fit the bill.

Noah: Hey guys, Noah Aaron here. I've been a classical musician since I was 6, and only have really broken out into different genres of music in the past 6 or 7 years. While i'd like to think my taste is fairly refined, I may at times not have the depth of knowledge of different genres that other people on this blog may have. I do, however, have the musical background and chops to back up my criticisms and reviews. I can be strongly opinionated at times, but keep in mind that I take my criticisms seriously and will never flippantly bash an album, track, or artist without legitimate reason. I tend to enjoy rhythmic music with a swing towards hip-hop/rap, but recently softer psychedelic rock influences have creeped onto my playlists. Favorite artists at the moment include Azizi Gibson, Mac Demarco, Of Montreal, Sufjan Stevens, and Freddie Gibbs.

Alright, enough about me. This week, I've been listening to Overdoz's "Boom", a free mixtape released in late 2013 to little reception outside of internet circles. The Los Angeles based group have released some small tapes, and recently have collaborated with big names such as A$AP Rocky and Kendrick Lamar. "Boom" is by no means a lyrically strong or particularly intuitive tape, but it makes up for its non-intelligence by being filled with fun and silly party anthems. The two emcees of the group, Sleezy and Tube, flip bars back and forth with the intro track 'Underground (feat. Pimp C)', whilst the comedian of the group, Cream, reminds the listener that this isn't a serious project. 'Lauren London', produced by emcee Iman Omari, provides a synth heavy bouncy background for Kent, the groups main vocalist. Expect lyrical content extending to smoking with the windows down, rolling papers, and infidelity in tracks such as 'Lapdance', featuring a quality Juicy J verse… But what can seem like standard fare subject matter is made fresh by the groups unique humor and energy. The second half is a little bit too slow for my liking at times, and the persistent weed and vagina talk can be taxing, but strong features from Nipsey Hussle and Problem provide some diversity from the in-house emcees. "Boom" is a quality tape, and I would recommend it for anyone looking for a not too serious time.


Kirikou: YO this is yerboi, DJ Kirikou and I have been recently straight up and down rocking the new Black Milk that has been released in the past year. Producer and emcee from Detroit, Michigan Black Milk has been providing hip-hop heads with undeniably soulful, technical and face-twistingly raw production and flows for years. Black Milk is one of a generation of Detroit (and outside) artists whom I refer to as Dilla-disciples; working alongside and studying the works of Jay Dee, taking his understanding of production and his direct influence and working it into their own styles. Black Milk’s No Poison No Paradise, released in October of 2013 is a concept-album full of rich, soulful imagery and great vibes. Not a single song lacks a vibrant, fully produced quality and Black Milk has worked out any kinks to make every track reach the standard of quality set by the preceding song as the album progresses. This is easily one of my top records for 2013.

Earlier this month Black Milk followed up his October full length with an EP titled Glitches in The Break. A collection of great songs that doesn’t quite match the quality of the LP, this is still not a release to be overlooked. An easy high point of the EP is the single, released a month prior to the EP release, Cold Day. I will say no more and encourage you to check out both of these releases and pick up the vinyl for Glitches in The Break when it is released on record store day, April 19.

This is Kirikou the sorcerer and I’m excited as fuck for this blog, y’all. Holler at yer boi and shout out to GrammaFone for being a supporter and lover of the music and giving way to this beauty.