Circle Into Square - Label Compilation Volume Three

Christmas is just around the corner, and people are feeling it already in their wallets. What's better at a time like that then some free music from one of the best labels around. You can now download Circle Into Square's Label Compilation Volume Three here and enjoy some great sounds for the beginning of December.

Myka 9 & Factor - Sovereign Soul

When it comes to technique and flow few, if any, emcees comes close to Myka 9. His flow is out of this world and nothing seems to be able to stand in his way. Except good songs. That might sound really harsh, but if you ask me, he's very seldom the man producing good music. Sure, he's made some classic stuff with Freestyle Fellowship, and his album 1969 was really good when it came out a few years ago. But other than that his output has been really weak and uninteresting. It seems too often that he thinks that his skills is enough, and he forget that you actually have to produce good music too. 

I got my hopes up when I heard that he was making Sovereign Soul together with Factor, because here we have a producer that brings out the best in most of the artists that he works with. And there are some really interesting tracks on this album. But mostly thanks to Factor's production. Myka himself keep doing his thing unaware that it sometimes is like listening to a sonic sleeping pill. 

There are some nice tracks on the album such as 5 Mikes (one of the few times on the album that he sounds hungry), Mind Heights and Bask in These Rays, but unfortunately songs such as Heaven Up, Sexy to the Beat, Bless Me Out (hip hop and reggae almost never works) and In So Far As We Know brings it all down. The lyrics to the last track actually made me skip it each listen. All in all a nice try, but it didn't do anything for me.

Rating: 4.5/10

Kodacrome - Music Man

Here's a new video to Music Man taken from Kodacrome's EP Perla.

Soundtrack to Week 47

Adeem & DJ MF Shalem - Made in New Hampshire

Adeem and DJ MF Shalem. Hearing about them making an album together makes me smile. And luckily the music on Made in New Hampshire has the same effect. Adeem has for many years been one of my absolute favourite emcees out there, and just hearing him doing his thing is enough to make me a happy man. And after a few years not making music together on record, I love that he's back together with DJ MF Shalem. Their earlier record Transitions was a huge favourite when it come out in 2004 and it's still a record that I frequently return to. What I love about Made in New Hampshire, and the guys behind it, is how it's a fun and warm record that is based on muscianship, skills and great songs and no silly image. Sure, Adeem might not be the coolest cat to some people, but I dare them to step up to the plate against him when it comes to pure mic skill and presence. He's the man, no doubt about it. Enough ass kissing now. Do yourself a favour and pick up this album. It's hip hop at it's finest and artists like this deserve all the support they can get.

Rating: 7/10

Brzowski - Blooddrive vol. 3

Blooddrive vol. 3 is another installment in Brzowski's series of compilations. Just as on the earlier ones, we get a mix of new songs, demos, unreleased remixes and rare gems. This guy has never been everybody's cup of tea, and even less so when it comes to his compilations. Because here we get the full spectrum of this amazing artis,t and it's a really diverse flood of sounds that run over us. 

Personally I always find compilations hard to review because of the lack of focus and framework. Being a fan of him though, makes me happy at the chance to hear some new tracks, and Blooddrive vol. 3 gets me smiling for sure. I only have one personal request. Please let us stop getting more remixes of Like Woe. Enough is enough.

Rating: 5.5/10

Myka 9 & Factor - Mind Heights

Brand new video from Myka 9 (or the Barry White of hip hop as a friend calls him) & Factor's album Sovereign Soul. Review coming soon.

edison - Delayed Reaction Elements

edison is without a doubt one of my absolute favourite producers and beatmakers out there. Since I first heard him as a part of papervehicle, it feels like he's gone from strength to strength. Both as a solo artist and as a producer for others artists. So when I heard about Delayed Reaction Elements, I got really excited. Unfortunately I'm not as impressed this time around. He's still the master of the dirty beats, but I'm not feeling the melodies as much this time around. A little too soft and uninteresting to be brutally honest. It's not a bad album, but it won't be one that I will return to as much as it's predecessors.

Rating: 5/10

Soundtrack to Week 46

Nomar Slevik - The Healing Process

I really dug In the Field Where I Died when it dropped last year, so when I heard that Nomar Slevik was about to release a new album, I got really excited. The Healing Process has just arrived, and it didn't disappoint me at all. It feels as if Nomar Slevik has created his own little field where he produces music that is unmistakingly his. If I were to try to describe him, it would be as a more dirty and grimey Buck 65, but without sounding the least bit as a copy. It's earthy and rural at the same time as it's industrial and filthy. His music feels like a compressed America of today, and together with guests such as Neila and Hobs Sputnik, Milled Pavement's elder statesman have produced yet another solid album.

Rating: 7/10

prison soup - Scathing Sentiments

prison soup. babelfishh. EVAK. decorative stamp. 667.

PRISON SOUP - SCATHING SENTIMENTS.mov from Flynn Donovan on Vimeo.

Isaac & Honey - End the Not is Death

Ahh! What a joy it is to hear James P. Honey and Isaac Ramsey's voices! Being the sucker for the British accent and beautiful poetry that I am, that alone is enough to like this record. It's a sweet little gem that is a pleasure to listen to, but at the same time I can't help feeling a bit unsatisfied. I think a lot of it that it feels too much like A Band of Buriers to really stand on its own two feet. So even if I like End the Not is Death, I personally don't quite see the point of the album. Be sure to check it out though, because after all, it's quality stuff there to be found.

Rating: 5.5/10

Swamp Thing - Creature Feature

If there is one thing that I enjoy, it's when artists are not too hung up on always coming across as cool, sexy and dangerous. That's one of the reasons why I like Hand'Solo Records. They are somewhat of the geek's safe haven in the world of hip hop. We have through the years got records that deal with subjects such as sci-fi, comics and monsters, and Creature Feature is no different. Swamp Thing consists of Timbuktu (no,  Swedish readers, not that Timbuktu), Chokeules and Savilion. These b-movie lovers have made a banging record that makes you both smile and nod your head, and what more can you really ask for sometimes? It might not be a memorable record, but it works for now in the dark and cold month of November.

Rating: 5/10

Soundtrack to Week 45

Two Reviews of Ira Lee - Growl

Michael's review:

I must admit that I was ready to dismiss this album without even listening to it. Having been a big fan of Ira Lee for years, I feel that his output has gotten weaker and weaker. But in the end I still felt that I had to give Growl a chance. Because when Ira is good, he is amazing and I didn't want to risk missing out on anything. So I kept my fingers crossed when the first song came out through my headphones. My first reaction was that I was really feeling the beats. Dirty and distorted, and just what I need to feel good. Unfortunately that's where the fun ended. Because even if the productions were good, Ira's vocals and lyrics were not. He's always been the king of emo and feeling sorry for himself, but in the past he managed to do so with clever lyrics and a twinkle in his eyes. This time around he doesn't just feel too sorry for himself, but he's lazily feeling too sorry for himself, and that just comes across as boring and annoying. I'm sad to say this, but my love affair with Ira is now officially over. I wish him all the best in the future, but we've just grew apart.

Jessika's review: 

It´s funny how this so-called alternative hip hop sometimes is everything else but alternative. The political correctness, the bad metaphors and the goody-two-shoes attitude of “the guy who has all the answers” I think we all heard this before, have we not? What I’m trying to say here is, and I guess you already know, what so new and fascinating about this? I´m really trying to get to know this genre of music, but when I come across lyricists like this I just get tired, very tired! I mean: "I call myself a genius because no one else does” might be an attempt to be different and alternative, or it could just be a statement reflecting reality. We (me), who live in the mainstream world, hear this political-correct-saving-the-world crap all the time. It is not new and exciting! Heard of Bono? 

I´m not saying it's bad. I’m not saying that the message in the lyrics isn’t important. I just want to experience it in a different way, and I thought this might be the genre to do that. I guess I’m just disappointed, again.

With this being said, in my own cynical words, I have to state what I do like about this album. I do like Ira Lee´s voice and his ability to articulate so even a novice, being me, can follow him and understand his language. I really enjoy the music as well, being a bit rough and rugged, definitely my cup of tea.

And finally, and this is a plea I guess. Show me how to love and approach this type of music because this didn’t help me at all.   

Michael's rating: 2.5/10

Jessika's rating: 2/10

sole - A Ruthless Criticism of Everything Existing

After a bit of a discussion on the blog's Facebook page a few weeks back, I finally got around to write this review of sole's latest record A Ruthless Criticism of Everything Existing. What the discussion basically centered around was my opinion that I was tired of sole's revolutionary image that I think is a bit over exeggerated and that I was wishing to hear some good music from him. I know, perhaps a bit immature, but everyone's entitled to their opinion. I used to be a huge fan of his music from around 2001 when I first heard his album Bottle of Humans. After that, he released some truly great music such as Selling Live Water, Live from Rome and a couple of installments of mansbestfriend. I thought for a long time that here's an artist that can't do no wrong, but unfortunately then it was time for sole and the skyrider band. From then on he stopped shining if you ask me. He turned to more live productions, simplified his rhyme style and started, at times, to make really hideous tracks featuring autotune and so on. I would also like to point out that I give him full respect for going his own way. After all, everyone develops in different directions, and musically he went along with a bit, in my opinion, more commercial sound.

First I wasn't even going to listen to A Ruthless Criticism of Everything Existing. I couldn't really see the point. There are too much interesting music out there being released, so why bother about someone I wasn't feeling anymore. But after the before mentioned discussion, I sat down and listened to the album really hard. I wanted to give it an honest review and therefor I listened to it over and over again for a couple of days.

So, what's my verdict? Well, I have to give him huge props for sticking to his guns and delivering intelligent lyrics dealing with the fucked up world that we all face everyday. He stands up for what he believes in, and is doing his thing for sure. So lyrically I don't really have too much to complain about this time. There are a few phrases that makes me cringe, but I find that on most records so that's ok. If I have any issues with the album, then it's the majority of the productions. Some of them are quite good, but most of them are way too much electronic pop for my taste to truly work for me. With that being said, it feels like he's starting to find a balance between the commercial side, and the more rough and dirty one. All in all, I feel that this is the best record sole has released in quite a while. There are a few tracks on it that I skip on every listen (Last Earth and Animal for example), but tracks such as Inferno, Assad is Dead and Non Workers of the World saves the day. So I'm the first to admit this, sole is still able to make good songs. Will probably never be a big fan again, but he doesn't need me anyway.

Rating: 6/10

Soundtrack to Week 44

a.hymnz & oracy - I Just Work Here

Some albums just seem to drop without anyone noticing at all, and many times those records can be real gems just waiting to get discovered. I Just Work Here is one of those albums. I think that the first time I really noticed a.hymnz was when he back in 2010 released the record Off the Beaten Path together with variex. That was an album filled with really great songs, and it's still a record that I like to return to. This time around a.hymnz hook up with oracy. I wish I could tell you something about him, but to be honest I have no clue who he is. What I do know however is that these guys work really well together. If you're a fan of labels such as Milled Pavement and New Cocoon, you should definitely check out this one. And you don't really have any excuse not to. I Just Work Here is available here as a name-your-price download. So go ahead, treat yourself.

Rating: 6.5/10

Child Actor - Victory

Child Actor is the frail lovechild constructed by Max Heath from Anonymous Inc. and Sedgie Ogilvy. I think their own description of their music says it best; R & B for the digital age, with hip hop and psych elements clawing at the walls of a restless alt-pop soundscape. And that's just what it feels like. It's a great mix of influences that in many cases would feel contrived, but here comes across as natural and really quite beautiful. It's the combination of Max's massive, but still constricted productions and Sedgie's dreamy and personal voice that makes this stand out from most of the thousands that throughout the years has attempted to do what Portishead succeeded with many many years ago. Perhaps not an album that I will return to time and again, but for now it's pure enjoyable pop, and that's just enough sometimes.

Rating: 5.5/10

Wordburglar - Drawings with Words

New video from one of my favourite geeks Wordburglar. The track is taken from the album 3RDBURGLAR.