CURTOM

"YOU'RE GUNNA GIVE ALL THIS UP? EIGHT TRACK STEREO, COLOR T.V. IN EVERY ROOM, AND SNORTIN A HALF A PIECE OF DOPE EVERYDAY? THAT'S THE AMERICAN DREAM!" 

Curtis Mayfield - Tripping Out

Curtis Mayfield - Give Me Your Love

Curtis Mayfield - Do Do Wap Is Strong in Here

The Notations - Superpeople

Donuts of the Mind

A young boy in a black puffy jacket walks down a windy street, his boots shuffling on the asphalt. The ashen pavement is painted with the tawny resin left by burnt autumn leaves, they speckle the sidewalk in an ornate pattern, breaking up the monotonous drone of geometric cracks. He picks up a stick and runs it along a chain link fence, tickling the metallic diamonds as he starts to jog. His jog breaks into a run and the burnt red bricks of factory buildings smear in a wash of emotion, the fuzzy whispers of motowns ghosts stir the air into a static frenzy, clinging to the skinny barren arms of the trees that line the road. His feet drum the tight skin of asphalt beneath them in a shifting rhythm. He tears across the city at this cantered pace, arcing over concrete spined bridges and ducking through metal ribbed tunnels, navigating deeper into its sweaty heart. 

J Dilla - Time: the Donuts of the Heart

J Dilla - Airworks

J Dilla - Stepson of the Clapper

J Dilla - One Eleven

J Dilla - Anti-American Graffiti

J Dilla - Gobstopper

 

All songs from the album Donuts. 

Picture from Wooster Collective

not so easy

Marching through an ornate forest of shimmering synthetic palms and slippery, thickly packed chords, a humanoid sings her mournful song in a filtered binary tongue. Moved by her desolate rhythm the plastic forest pulses in an alien sway swallowing her in spongy fog.

Ricardo Villalobos - Easy Lee

                              

In a grey courtyard a monk sits beneath a pagoda. He is hunched over, plucking his board-like koto in a lilting staccato rhythm. As he furiously plays into a trance, leaves begin to swirl, lending their sweeping percussion to the sharp koto stabs. The rain claps onto the grey stone, cutting the groove into glossy fragments that bounce around the courtyard like atomic particles liberated from their mechanical bonds. 

Ricardo Villalobos - Waiworinao

Ricardo Villalobos - Easy Lee (Smith n Hack Remix)

Ricardo Villalobos - Easy Lee (Two Lone Swordsmen Remix)

King of the Q

Somewhere in the damp swamps of Missouri the spirit of Robert Johnson downs the last of the moonshine in his cup, two punk exiles from montreal shack up in a WWII bunker in Germany, hit record on an abused four track and start thrashing with all the fervor of Buddy Holly on meth. Cutting between harmar mississippi chops and ghostly 50's doowop they will punch you in the face then tell you they love you when you can still taste the blood in your mouth, but you will believe it.... until they punch you in face again. 

The King Khan & BBQ Show - Why Dont You Lie?

The King Khan & BBQ Show - Blow My Top

The King Khan & BBQ Show - Ill Never Belong

The King Khan & BBQ Show - Captain Captain

DONT GIVE IT UP

Here is a new mix, its mostly older songs some more typical rock songs in there too, some of it is kind of unmixed and some of it is roughly mixed let me know what you think.(there are links to a couple of the songs I have already posted included in the tracklisting, if anyone wants any of the other songs in their full unmixed form just leave a comment or email me)

Don't Give it Up mixed by Grey Matt

 

Alan Reeves, Phil Steele - The Chase

Love - The Castle

Ennio Morricone - Il Giardino delle Delizie

Mount Florida - G-Twang

James White and the Blacks - Contort Yourself

Pointer Sisters - Bring Him Back (Pilooski edit)

David Byrne - Big Business

Eddie Kendricks - Thanks for the Memories (Lee Douglas edit)

Lee Douglas - Our Song

POPTIMO!

Mount Florida is J.D. Twitch (of Optimo) and M.P. Lancaster this ep is entitled Strut. It's pretty fly, drawing on the influences of no wave and krautrock, a lot of the elements that make optimos mixes so good are at work here. If you like this you can check out the no wave mix on their website, good little introduction to some similar stuff.

Mount Florida - Poptimo

Mount Florida - G-Twang

Mount Florida - Last Airboat to Daytona Beach

Mount Florida - Split

Well the weekend is here.....sadly I wont be hitting any real dancefloors because of exams and my grandmas birthday (yeah ethel) but, here is my mini playlist for shameless bedroom dancefloors. woo woo

and if you havent seen it this is how i imagine my bedroom dancefloor.

Mark Morrison - Return of the Mack

Jodeci - In the Meanwhile

Prince - Bob George

R-Kelly - Fiesta

Chromeo - Ah oui comme ca

Rodion - Fisico

Cameo - candy

Advance Overhead

Released last year this ep from Justus Kohnke was kind of slept on. Overhead flips a Frankie Vallie breakdown and gives it a thorough filter rinse with stuttering percussion underneath. Advance is a little more restrained offering, some live sounding drums and dubbed out stabs march ominously until Justus saves you from the beatdown and sends a thick wall of arpeggiated synths into the ether. He also has a new ep out on kompakt.

Justus Kohnke - Advance

Justus Kohnke - Overhead

Berlin Sunrise

the sun floats on the horizon painting the last clouds of the night in fluorescent pastel streaks of daylight burning across the sky....

Daniel Wang - Berlin Sunrise (Die Nacht)

Daniel Wang - Berlin Sunrsie (Die Dammerung)

Daniel Wang - Pistol Oderso (Mehr Acid mix)

Daniel  Wang - Das Ist Kein Techno! 

Classical Studies

Seeing as I'm writing a thrilling paper on Anthony and Cleopatra, it seemed to fitting to post something with a classical theme. While Hercules and Love Affair have more in common with Chicago circa 1990 than Athens circa 300 they're close enough. Their latest 12" from DFA has been out for a little while now but i just recently picked it up. Both sides of this vinyl are premium cuts, pulling in all the right directions at once. Roar is a strange trip through the twisting tunnels of some prehistoric cavern, the vocals suggesting liberation while the chunky synths keep telling you to leave the outside world behind and give yourself fully to the hands of Greek gods. Classique #2 is just as unrelenting, the heavy 909 belting you into submission, while the creeping pads offer only eerie blue light in this dark tunnel. 

hercules & love affair - Classique #2

hercules & love affair - roar

Wizardry and such

mostly new, a little bit of old mixed in for good measure. the last track is cut short, more to come.

MERLIN MIX BY JMATT

chromatics - In the City

Mocky - Catch a Moment in Time (Ewan Pearson's memory blissed remix)

Mock & Toof - K- Choppers

Lindstrom & Solale - Let's Practice

M.I.A. - Jimmy (eli remix)

Alan Braxe & Fred Falke - Intro

Holy Ghost - Hold On (black mazego groove)

Jodeci - Freek U (mk mix)

Mark Morrison - Return of the Mack

RAINCOUVER

Sorcerer - Pocket Check

Arthur Russell - Lets Go Swimming

Can - Flow Motion

Peace Arch

Villalobos' Fabric Live CD is wicked. here is my edit of andruic and japan, the original is 12 minutes long i got it down to eight or so, by no means short but a little more manageable.  

Villalobos - Andruic & Japan (jmatts crossing international borders edit)

MOREICONE

you can see more paintings by this artist here

Ennio Morricone - Gli Scatenati (from the cat)

Ennio Morricone - Il Giardino Delle Delizie (the gardern of delights)

Ennio Morricone - Magic and Ecstacy (from exorcist II the heretic)

Ennio Morricone - Robodog (from the humanoid)

Quick Fix

My edit of Bill Withers - Who is he, sorry about the vinyl static its kind of annoying. Let me know what you think. 

Bill Withers - Who is He? (jmatt's chocolate & ice edit)

Killa Whale

The bay area has a long hiphop tradition founded by the likes of Too Short and E40 and more recently endorsed by hyphy. However one rapper has been working underground in the bay since 1993, Dre Dog aka Andre Nickatina. While you have probably heard his crack anthem ayo for yayo, the dre dog is far from a one hit wonder with a whopping 16 albums (at my last count) under his belt. Some of his catalogue has a tendency to be a little repetitive in style (not unlike Too Short or E40), there are only so many ways to rap about slanging high quality coke, some of his records are very conceptual and dramatized. He weaves a range of stories, from gritty street scenes to deeply introspective moments where he seems to be battling the devil in the studio. Even more impressive is the wide range of production he spits over, new school p funk, barren cocaine beats, and dramatic strings. Plus this amazing cover art. 

Andre Nickatina & Equipto - Peez Paradise

Andre Nickatina - Pick Cha

Andre Nickatina - Dice of Life

Andre Nickatina & Equipto - Cottoncandland CB Mix

Street Beat

A cheerful mood permeates the tight streets of Mumbai, lizards cool themselves on the walls, dark bodies against the sun drenched streaks of ochre walls, the close smell of hot oil and cumin spice. Somewhere in the distance a macaque shrieks out and the placid calm erupts as two vespas tear through the narrow channel, leaving in their wake a chaotic outburst of dry flyers, dust and shadows. The momentary calamity is absolved as papers flutter to the ground and echoes ricochet off the alleys canyon walls, shattering down on the streets below. 

Kalyanji Anandji - Disco Cammata (edit)

R.D. Burman - The Burning Train Theme (edit)

Carpathians

A two headed beast of a 12". the a side is a slow burning cosmic trip on the beach, shimmering synths casting rays of sunlight through the reverberating blackberry sky. B side continues the ambling pace through dusk, peaking as the moon  arches into the height of its journey. the sky erupts in thunder and ushers down a frothy rain, cooling the crowds on the beach into the first gentle glimmers of morning. 

Bastards of Light

Thirteen Walls

 

it doesnt seem so long ago that house party was in theaters, people were still rockin fades and fresh prince was the best show on tv (isnt it still???). anyways to remember this era here are two new jack jams. first up is r-kelly's born into the 90's. what more can you ask for the name says it all. second is digital underground's  freaks of the industry slo mo party hiphop at its finest.

R-Kelly - Born Into the 90's

Digital Underground - Freaks of the Industry

Shiny Fruit

A faint pulse echoes through the forest, the alluring sounds draw you slowly away from the beaten path. Dreamily you wander deeper into the trees, propelled on by the hypnotic bleeps. Suddenly a light flashes and the glowing entrance to a cave appears, the beat gets louder as you draw near. Overwhelmed by curiosity and completely forgetting the civilized world you drift down the bleary cave path until it opens into a wide cavern, lit only with torches and filled with an undulating mass of Avalonians. 2 futuristic gypsies control the throbbing rhythms of the pagan dance floor, tweaking wooden knobs on vine covered oscillators and arpeggiating the crowd into madness. 

Silver Apples - Dancing Gods

Choppin It Up

One part of the recently released series of 12"s from the DFA sister label (?) Death From Abroad features two tracks from Mock & Toof. The a side is a stomping acid workout that takes off after a slick extended steel bell intro. But really this is all about the thicker than nyquil synths that turn the track into a dreamy trance out. 

Mock & Toof - K-Choppers

I first heard Losoul on Optimo's BBC essential mix. Responsible for the outstanding edit of UnKnownMix's The Siren I recently tracked down some original vinyl he put out in 2006. Back Wash Riders is heavy minimal funk at its finest. Chopped up stabs scatter and scoot over a straight house beat until the wobbling bass picks up and starts sliding in between. After the two minute mark the track pulls you down into a deep, hollow ravine and doesn't let up until it has thoroughly rinsed you in the oily waters of its funky river. 

Losoul - Back Wash Rider 

AGAIN....FOR THE FIRST TIME

Seeing as I seem to be spending most of my time ripping and labeling vinyl and looking at other music blogs instead of studying for the two midterms I have in the next week, I decided to start posting songs I think are somehow important or just plain good. In addition to the above mentioned reason a quick google search for music blogs in Vancouver turned up barely a handful so perhaps I can contribute to that small (but hopefully growing) community. Anyways since I haven't exactly found out how to upload songs yet I would like to point you instead to some blogs that inspired me: On-Off great dance music blog from toronto via glasgow I believe, straightforward posts lots of mp3s and a great header image. 20 Jazz Funk Greats is an amazing blog out of the UK featuring imaginative musings and intergalactic sounds, updated very regularly. Beats in Space Tim Sweeney's absolutely essential site featuring mixes by world class djs and updated weekly. And finally get a taste of the ultimate blogger lifestyle over at Lloydski's impeccable blog. More posts to come.