Jet Black Crayon

Jan 28th, 2008 Breakbeat, Downtempo, Instrumental, Post-Rock steve 1 min read

Tommy Guerrero, Gadget and Monte Vallier are Jet Black Crayon. The story goes that Guerrero was asked to open for Isotope 217 way back when and instead of playing solo, he tapped his boys to play as Jet Black Crayon. And years later, the trio — with the occasional helping hand from a large group of players including Tortoise’s Herndon and Bitney — is still…

Stateless

Nov 6th, 2007 Downtempo, Electronic/Dance, Rock steve 1 min read

So, as promised, you get your second “state” related posting, this time on a definitively more British note. I know that for a lot of you Stateless may not necessarily be something brand new. Truth is, I slept on this record for a while, not fully convinced of its merits — even though both Roots Manuva and DJ Shadow were singing its high praise. Shadow…

SK Exclusive: See-I & Magic Fly

Oct 17th, 2007 DJ Weapons, Downtempo, Dub/Reggae, Remixes steve 2 min read

A Quick Rant I get a lot of emails about why I don’t post every day. Let me explain if I may. I try to be as discerning as I can about the things I post. Fact is, if it’s not something I think you all would like, then it doesn’t deserve the pixels. Like I’ve said before, music blogging is way out of control….

Ben Benjamin

Jun 28th, 2007 Downtempo, Electronic/Dance, Instrumental, Rock steve 2 min read

Not sure if you all know about The Hype Machine but if not, you should check it out. It’s basically an aggregator of all the music posted on every significant music blog out there. Seriously. Scissorkick and all the links to your left are there, in addition to hundreds more, and you can search by artists and find a handful (and more) songs available right…

Marco Polo featuring Masta Ace

May 21st, 2007 Breakbeat, DJ Weapons, Downtempo, Hip-Hop steve 1 min read

Thanks to Bastard Jazz’s head-honcho DJ DRM for this inaugural 2007 Summer jam alert! You may already know about New York via Toronto producer Marco Polo, but for those not yet familiar — and fans of golden-era mid-90s hip-hop — do not miss out on the automatic BBQ bangers on his new LP for Rawkus, Port Authority. There’s little not to love about “Nostalgia” from…

The Cinematic Orchestra

Apr 30th, 2007 Downtempo, Soul steve 1 min read

Big week of new music in store. Advanced apologies as the job has gotten the best of me over the last few weeks. But in that time I’ve received a superfluity of sickness, some truly unreal gems, with the biggest, baddest and most exciting the newest record from The Cinematic Orchestra, Ma Fleur, which is scheduled to land stateside over the summer. Longtime readers know…

Joe Beats

Apr 4th, 2007 Breakbeat, Downtempo, Hip-Hop steve 1 min read

Big apologies for not posting but the day job is getting the best of me right now. But good shit has been piling up and I have a large stack of some incredible music, first and foremost some new stuff from one of our favorites Joe Beats (aka Joey Beats), of Non-Prophets fame and currently associated with Cunninlynguists. Aaron was kind enough to remind me…

Thisish Volume 1

Mar 13th, 2007 Breakbeat, Downtempo, Hip-Hop, Instrumental steve 1 min read

I’ve read quite a lot about the Thisish crew before this post because I’m always curious how an often myopic hip-hop media approaches eclectic production. The truth is that for all his success, a celebrated producer such as Timbaland for example, who is often showered with deserving albeit hyperbolic compliments, isn’t really that forward-thinking or groundbreaking. In the context of mainstream music, there is little…

Loo & Placido

Jan 29th, 2007 DJ Weapons, Downtempo, Dub/Reggae, Mash-Ups/Blends steve 1 min read

Although I don’t post too much dub or reggae, today’s post ventures into that much hallowed territory without the least bit of confidence or expertise. Take it from me, if there’s an SK post on the topic, you can guarantee that it’s of the re-edit/mashup variety. The Paris Duo Loo & Placido (Thanks Andre! Fatcity mis-posted. This is not by J*Star) drops this mysterious white…

Faux Pas

Oct 31st, 2006 Downtempo, Electronic/Dance steve 1 min read

I don’t think most bloggers realize how fucking lucky they are. They get free music, access to shows, dedicated readers, ad revenue, and other assorted benefits that come from nary a pinch of the pocket. It’s all the result of posting music (often illegally) and confirming to a worldwide audience that they are the rarified dweeb-combo of both music nerds and technology geeks. I of…

DJ Reset

Oct 23rd, 2006 DJ Weapons, Downtempo, Mash-Ups/Blends, Soul steve 1 min read

This isn’t a new track or something entirely all that rare, but after my iTunes shuffler recently landed on this excellent re-edit/mash-up by NYC’s DJ Reset I felt compelled to post it. Although you may be familiar with other more infamous mash-up artists (Go Home Productions, Ape Blends, Holletronix) DJ Reset is a force that should be mentioned in the same breath. His taste and…