Grafonola

HIFANA are breakbeats duo KEIZOmachine! & JUICY since 1998. HIFANA have always been known for original and creative live performance, during which they cut beats with realtime sampler (MPC) and incorporating scratch and percussion, without using programmed sequences. On the other hand, in their tracks on CDs and records, they heavily use programmed sounds and sequences to make HIFANA sounds. Their first full album "FRESH PUSH BREAKIN'" was released on November 19th, 2003 and created a buzz in music reviews. Their music video "FATBROS", which is included in this album, won the Best CG / Animation Video Awards in the SPACE SHOWER TV MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS 04. And in July 0f 2005, HIFANA has released their 2nd full Album "Channel H"(CD+DVD) which includes 15 songs and 13 music videos. Music video "WAMONO" won Japan Media Arts Festival's Excellence Prize. Then HIFANA and Space Shower TV released a DVD called "ZAMURAI TV" together w

McKAY, Stephanie - Tell It Like It Is ( Muthas Of Invention ) Comentários: STEPHANIE MCKAY’s new album ‘Tell It Like It Is’ sees the Bronx-born singer/songwriter work with local musicians to produce an album that wraps up classic soul, seventies funk-rock and old-school hip hop influences into one vibrant outpouring. Sometimes romantic and at others acutely topical, ‘Tell It Like It Is’ is an album full of strong performances and great song-writing.The album is packed with classic gems from the feel-good joy of the KATAYST produced lead single “Jackson Avenue”, to the outrageously funky, hornfired groove of “Kinky”. The hip hop influenced “Oh Yeah” is a wind-in-the hair celebration with a cool groove, while a newly-incarnated version of the KATALYST co-written “Say What You Feel” appears in all its glory. R&B sensation ANTHONY HAMILTON appears on the smooth but perfectly pitched duet “Where Did Our Love Go?” resulting in an absolute gem of a ballad, while the album finishes with

DJ MITSU THE BEATS / HUNGER - After Midnight (Show Tiku Bai Premium) Comentários: (The second one in this limited 7" series sees a souldful Mitsu intrumental with a sexy late night vibe on the A side. The flip has 'One Time In Mongolia' ,a solo work of MC Hunger (Gagle/Jazzy Sport) and brother of Mitsu The Beats. It features emcees Quiza and Boldoo outta Mongolia whom he met in a club while he was on a trip there. in rushhour [ Para Ouvir/Samples ]

DAM FUNK - Burgundy City (Stones Throw US) Comentários: Damn funky work from Dam Funk -- an enigmatic Stones Throw signing with a crisp electric feel! "Burgundy City" has a mellow steppers feel that's totally great -- basslines dipping around the bottom with a slightly restless feel -- topped by keyboards that are somewhat sprightly, but a bit off-kilter too -- a nicely odd take on an early 80s groove! "Galactic Fun" is a bit more upbeat and straightforward, but pretty great too -- almost an electro club groover, ala Cosmic mode! in dusty groove [ Para Ouvir/Samples ] [ Buy ]

BUDAMUNKY - Mokstrumentals Vol 1 (Jazzy Sport Japan) Comentários: "New B.E.A.T EP by Budamunky, already known for his collaboration with C.R.A.C Knuckles a.k.a Ta'raach & Blu.He's already delivered beats for Mitsu the beats's group Gagle and won the MPC2000 Live battle in Tokyo this year. 9 laidback hiphop tracks on this 12"! in rushhour". "9 instrumentals inspired by J Dilla, Sa-Ra, Georgia and the likes, winner of MPC2000 Battle in Tokyo and Gold Finger’s Kitchen 2008, one of the most rated beatmakers in japan, limited edition! in hhv.de" [ Para Ouvir/Samples ] [ Buy ]

KATALYST - What's Happening (BBE) Comentários: Katalyst’s new album ‘What’s Happening’ is the much anticipated follow up to the great ‘manipulating agent’ and it features a massive all star special guest lineup which includes talent from all over the globe - Katie Noonan (George), Mat McHugh (Beautiful Girls) , Adalita (Magic Dirt), Hau (Koolism), Stephanie McKay (US soul songstress), Diverse (US MC) and Steve Spacek (the future of soul music!). Previous album “Manipulating Agent” released in 2002 has gone on to sell 15000 copies here in Australia and nominated for an Aria Award, “Manipulating Agent” won Best Album and Best Producer at the 2002 Dance Music Awards. It was album of the week on JJJ and featured hits like “Fusion” and “Showtime”. The new album “Whats Happening” is a musical excursion through many different styles, brought together with Katalyst’s signature sound. Moving seamless though space-aged soul, hip hop, funk and rock, this project is truly diverse. in inertia

PANTS, James - Future Delight (Stones Throw US) Comentários: On the A side, some incredible disco from James Pants, very much on a eighties The Clash meets 'cosmic boogie' tip with great drums and synths. The flip is more along spiritual jazz lines. Limited fanclub 45! Well Recommended. in rushhour [ Para Ouvir/Samples1 ] [ 2 ] De repente aparece um nome para isto: Freshbeat. Cruzamento de boogie, disco, rap, pós-punk, kraut, soul e electro, em «Welcome» tudo orquestrado por Pants, James. Toca guitarra, bateria, teclas e canta, nada de extraordinário no mundo moderno mas nem todos o conseguem fazer com credibilidsade old school como «Welcome» transmite em três tempos. A profusão de estilos compactados num único álbum não compromete de todo a fluidez nem a direcção estética da música e reforça a ideia de que no centro do hip hop enquanto cultura musical está uma curiosidade infinita por fragmentos de todo o universo. Ouvido treinado, sentido rítmico, reciclagem sábia e muitos a

ASPLUND, Kissey - Move Me (Record Breakin US) Comentários: The second release on this hot new 7" series put together by DJ Junior comes from Sweden's answer to Erykah Badu, Kissey Asplund, who was born in 1982 and now lives in Malmoe. A side cut, 'Move Me' is an Asha Puthli styled vocal with a timeless feel, lush rhodes and reverbed guitar licks. A record for chilling in the park on a hot summers day - and one that we're tipping as one of the best soul tracks we've heard all year - while the B side '99 Bottles' with its killer scratch intro and super fat beat is chilled hip hop with beef - think Badu meets D.J. Premier)! Chicago MC Bless 1 provides the rap while Germany's Suff Daddy provides the production. Hot. in phonica [ Para Ouvir/Samples1 ] [ 2 ]

RED - Fingerprints (Dealmaker) Comentários: Red made his initial musical forays as a drummer, before reinventing himself as a scratch musician. He is now an accomplished producer and turntablist in the midst of releasing his debut album Fingerprints, and taking scratch music to a new level with his band, Full Fat. Red grew up in the suburbs of London, and took up drumming aged 11. Two of his biggest musical influences were his younger brothers, who are now both seasoned session musicians. With his siblings, he grew up playing and recording music constantly, learning how to play guitar and work multi-track machines. He wrote and produced his own songs with a four-track, playing every instrument from the drums, guitar, bass, to the keys, developing his song writing and production skills. Such experiences afforded him an invaluable musical upbringing which aided him once he began exploring his interest in scratching. Without a sampler or looping machine, Red began producing layered turnt

PERCEE P - Perseverance (The Remix) (Stones Throw) Comentários: PERCEE P came up in the Patterson Houses Projects of the Bronx, NY. He started hearing the precursors of hip-hop out of his windows before he was in kindergarten, around 1973. By ten, Percee had a mic in his hand. He debuted in 1988 with homeboy D-Nique on “Let The Homicides Begin” (Gothan City Records, 12” single). A few years later, his freestyles on the hugely influential Stretch & Bobbito radio show on WKCR parlayed into what should have been Percee's big major label breakthrough, 1992's “Lung Collapsing Lyrics” (Atlantic/Big Beat, 12” single), the now legendary Fast Rap masterpiece. Though the record established reputation as one of the best rappers in the field, his break never came. For most of the rest of the 1990s Percee P laid low, working in retail and as a messenger, dropping only the occasional indie single and a few guest verses. Percee wasn't gung-ho about the rap game again until the late &

GUILTY SIMPSON - Footwork Size 12 (Stones Throw) Comentários: Guilty Simpson was born in Detroit, the son and grandson of the family’s performing musicians in his father and grandfather. At age four, Simpson and his mother began traveling with an aunt in the military, living in California and Birmingham, Alabama, before settling back in the Motor City at 15. Big Daddy Kane, N.W.A, and Scarface were all major influences, but it was Queens-bred street bard Kool G Rap who made the biggest impression. “That’s my crème de la crème rapper right there,” says Simpson, his own presence among the latest in a rich lineage of heavy-handed MCs. For years Guilty Simpson has been a rock on the Detroit hip-hop circuit alongside those such as J Dilla, Slum Village, Eminem (whom Guilty still calls “Marshall”) & D12, Obie Trice, Proof, Phat Kat and Black Milk. A member of the Almighty Dreadnaughtz crew, Guilty emerged as a sound to be reckoned with after linking with producer Dilla in 2001. In the m

TAKE - The Dirty Decibels of Thomas Two Thousand (Eat Concrete Holland) Comentários: TAKE aka Thomas Wilson is a composer who continues to push the boundaries of instrumental Hip Hop music into new directions. He has long been at the center of an ever growing scene of talented musicians, producers and dj's in the Los Angeles area. As an active member of the Dublab family and co-founder of the legendary beat showcase night "Sketchbook", Take has been fortunate enough to share the stage with such artists as Prefuse 73, Mos Def, Daedelus, Caural, Nobody, Ammon Contact, Scienz of Life, Flying Lotus, Ta'raach, Edit and more. In the last several years, he has composed and produced multiple 12" EP's and remixes for labels such as ButterMilk, Poobah Records, Astro Lab, Eat Concrete and unleashed his much-admired debut full length player called "Earthtones & Concrete" last year. Eat Concrete Records is very proud to announce that "The Dirty Decibel

BADU, Erykah - New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) (Universal Mowtown) Comentários: What's the freakquency, Erykah? The five years since her last album, Worldwide Underground (make that last EP, so more like eight years since her last proper album), make clear that her release frequency lags about as far behind as you could expect from a one-woman jam band at the forefront of a head collective. But the freakquency? That's pitched as high as a kite, now more than ever. Badu's intense New AmErykah: Part One (4th World War), the opening salvo of a promised two-disc series (three if you count a live album Universal is promising in late 2008), is as sonically ambitious as anything she's done to date. It's sort of the flip to Worldwide Underground in that both albums are so diffuse as to seem careless and haphazard to some listeners. But whereas the earlier album maintained a laidback, even keel (held together under the influence of the Mizell brothers), New AmErykah i

GUILTY SIMPSON - Ode To The Ghetto (Madlib remix) (Stones Throw) Comentários: Guilty Simpson was born in Detroit, the son and grandson of the family’s performing musicians in his father and grandfather. At age four, Simpson and his mother began traveling with an aunt in the military, living in California and Birmingham, Alabama, before settling back in the Motor City at 15. Big Daddy Kane, N.W.A, and Scarface were all major influences, but it was Queens-bred street bard Kool G Rap who made the biggest impression. “That’s my crème de la crème rapper right there,” says Simpson, his own presence among the latest in a rich lineage of heavy-handed MCs. For years Guilty Simpson has been a rock on the Detroit hip-hop circuit alongside those such as J Dilla, Slum Village, Eminem (whom Guilty still calls “Marshall”) & D12, Obie Trice, Proof, Phat Kat and Black Milk. A member of the Almighty Dreadnaughtz crew, Guilty emerged as a sound to be reckoned with after linking with producer Dilla

SA RA CREATIVE PARTNERS, The - Sonic Seduction Vol 2 (Jazzy Sport Japan) Comentários: Incredible new Sa-Ra on the japanese Jazzy Sport label. 5 tracks of instrumental futuristic funk/soul drenched hiphop & beyond. This sh*t is so heavy... Again, like the first one, real nice artwork/packaging - so a big up to the Jazzy Sport atelier guys for that! Huge tip! in rushhour [ Para Ouvir/Samples ]

VA - Droppin Science - Greatest Samples From The Blue Note Lab (Blue Note) Comentários: At least in its presentation, Droppin' Science: Greatest Samples From the Blue Note Lab suggests yet another appeal to hip-hop genealogists, the kind of people who obsess over The-Breaks.com and are diligent readers of Oliver Wang's blog . But this is not your run-of-the-mill "roots of rap" or "best breakbeats" compilation, and not just because you won't find "Impeach the President" (which has been, according to The-Breaks, sampled in 116 different rap songs) or James Brown's "Funky Drummer" (181 songs). A few songs on the album have been tapped for use only once, and more than half of these songs bear relevance solely to the early-'90s conscious-rap movement and groups like De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest. The people who put together the compilation seem to be aware that the greatest samples often don't come from the greatest song

VARIOUS - The Third Unheard Connecticut Hip Hop 1979-1983 (Stones Throw) Comentários: Old school hip hop is the stuff of legend. The New York City gangs. A truce or two. Rocking block parties in The Bronx. Two turntables and a shoddy mixer. Young, musical visionaries taking then-contemporary breaks and beats from any funky source material and flipping those precious seconds into something wholly new. Don’t forget the microphone. DJs rapping, rappers probably wishing they could DJ (how backwards that must sound to today’s rap-reared youth!). It wasn’t long until this revolution was committed to wax, and the Sugar Hill Gang’s debut single spurred on releases by countless others. The famous, the not-so-famous and the downright obscure all found ways to testify on twelve inches of vinyl. New York-based labels like Sugar Hill, Enjoy and Peter Brown’s multitude of imprints recorded a chorus of thousands of voices. Contributing to this legend are the snapshots of the fledgling stages of a bu

DARU/REGGIE B - Future Music (4 Lux Holland) Comentários: 4lux is proud to present this first album on 4lux White, sublabel to 4lux, dedicated to soulful beats, hip hop and leftfield electronica. Future music is a mixture of hip hop, deep and infectious soul and funk, with powerful songwriting. This album is a very diverse one, and a good example of today’s nu-ground soul and hip hop. This will definitely appeal to all the beatheads out there. in clone [ Para Ouvir/Samples ]

ALLEN, Tony - Kilode (Waajeed reworks) (Honest Jon's) Comentários: More Tony Allen remixes on the wonderful Honest Jons imprint - this time courtesy of Slum Village and the Platinum Pied Pipers don Waajeed, who re-starts T's tough Afrobeat protest song from scratch. This is jazzy and soulful, percussive and a little bit bruk, with stirring singing by Zaki Ibrahim, sounding not altogether unlike vintage London-style broken beat crossed with a twilight Sade vibe. Very nice indeed. in boomkat [ Para Ouvir/Samples ]

MF DOOM - Project Jazz / Garbage Day (Instrumentals) Comentários: Killer limited edition 45 with two new MF Doom instrumentals. A-side beats come from the latest Hell Razah album, while the original vocal version of the flip an be found on KMD's classic 'Black Bastards'. Big hole, plain white sleeve, not cheap, 1000 only. in boomkat [ Buy Here ] [ Myspace ]