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| Roy Kasten |
"Bosforus" by the Reventones More >>
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The announcement came last night: Osama Bin Laden is dead. St. Louis rapper Jonezy dropped us a line this morning because he has something to say about this; his song "Proper Gander" is a call for critical thought. "I think Bin Laden's death is being hyped in an aim to provide relief to the masses," he says. "It's really just the 'hype machine' swinging it's pendulum to the other extreme." Listen below.
In recent times, Jay Fay (a 2011 RFT Music Awards nominee for Best New Artist) has quietly started making quite a name for himself around the St. Louis area. He was well-received as an opener for Mount Kimbie at the Luminary Center for the Arts on March 27, and he's starting to pop up on many blogs. His remix of "Look Pon Mi" was recently highlighted on Mad Decent.
Charles playing a piano piece which Soto's daughter was practicing. This one in particular is goosebump-inducing.
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It's always great to wake up on a Monday morning, check Twitter and see that an album you've been anticipating has been unexpectedly released. Today that honor goes to Force member Rockwell Knuckles, who unleashed You're F*ckin Out, I'm F*ckin In via the Smoking Section. Rocky's follow-up to Choose Your Own Adventure contains a few familiar tunes -- the bananas "Silly Human," for one -- and plenty of familiar collaborators, including Tef Poe, Vandalyzm, Trifeckta and Theresa Payne. In is a creative leap forward, however: The sci-fi production -- everything from jagged rock to electro-funk -- lets Rocky recontextualize and reinvent his tongue-twisting rhymes. Download it for free at the Smoking Section or stream it below.
Just before he hits SXSW, Vandalyzm checked in with a new song and some info about his upcoming release, Vandalyzm Is The Stepfather. It'll be coming out this spring, for starters, and he has features from Tanya Morgan, Naledge of Kidz In The Hall, Diz Gibran, Marvwon, and Nickelus F (among others). More on this soon! In the meantime, enjoy a new song from it, "Nothing Ass Verse, With A Hook On A Beat." You can stream it below or download it here.
The other day, Tef Poe released a new single and video, "Out the Kitchen." The latter is found below; as you can hear, it's a measured, forceful song. A remix of the tune (which you can also snag below) has a featured appearance from GLC, who's part of Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music label. While Poe and a whole slew of fellow Force members are in Austin for SXSW (more on that next week), he and GLC will be filming a video for the "Out the Kitchen" remix. Oh and by the way: GLC will also be playing at the Gramophone on March 21.
On Valentine's Day, Beth Bombara posted "Don't You Know" -- her "first love song," she says -- for free download over at ReverbNation. The song is from her late-2010 album, Wish I Were You. It's a strikingly beautiful song that starts with buckling banjo and then makes room for lush, lacy strings, as Bombara employs a stark delivery that's reminiscent of Damien Jurado. Go download it now.
Stuck inside? (Dumb question.) If you're like me, you're using this time to catch up on all of the new music floating around the Internet, on sites such as Spinner and (my personal favorite), a Dutch site called Luisterpaal. In addition, local producer Phaseone noted a bit ago that he's part of Urban Outfitters' "Music Mondays" promotion this week. You can download Phaseone's new single, "Being With You," right here, along with tracks by Junk Culture, Fergus and Geronimo, the Babies and the Music Tapes. (Stream everything below.) Sweet!
Last week, Eric Hall dropped me a line asking if I had any idea who was behind the St. Louis-based band I Was a Fountain. Going by three tracks found on Bandcamp, he pointed out the similarities between IWAF and Animal Collective. He's right, but AC is more of a jumping-off point for the band; its beats, rhythms and textures are rich and complex. Hear for yourself below.
Of course, the bigger question is:
All MP3s are posted for sample purposes only, and always with permission from the artist or label. If you like what you hear, go out and support the band/musician by buying their record!
