1. what’s your name, where are you from & how did you get involved with music?
MaxPtah, from Memphis, Tn. got involved just from being a fan and lover of music first. i was more into sports and my brother was the musician of the family playing the sousaphone at Grambling State and later on in the Navy. one of my cousins gave me his DR-5 to hold for a minute while he was in school and i just learned it (no instruction manual at all, lol) and that’s where it all started.
2. how did your particular track in the mix come about/is there a story behind its creation?
the emcee i did this project with, Infinito 2017, sent me some accapellas of his from a few albums he’s done already and i just remixed a few to put together this particular project. this track in particular though was already made and it just so happened that the tempo was the same. i decided to slap it on there cause Infinito is that dude and i knew it would get out there to the masses. this is probably my favorite track of any i’ve ever made.
3. who or what inspires you to create? and how do you STAY inspired?
the love of music in general for one, and some of my fellow producers in the city that i work with keep me inspired: Fathom 9, EMPEE, DJ Homework and IMAKEMADBEATS just to name a few. staying inspired is hard because life gets in the way often. i get to points i don’t want to do anything cause something else has my attention and that’s something i’ve got to get out of. music is my safehaven though. so regardless if i’m distracted somehow i’m at least listening to a lot of music and that serves as the means of staying inspired also.
4. your opinion on copyright and the sharing of music? (specifically tunes made by unsigned, under-the-radar and bedroom artists that are then shared by fans?).
i love it! i don’t like being force fed anything and i feel like that is what the mainstream is doing right now. i like hearing what these guys (and gals) have cooking up. it feels rawer and truer than what’s on the mainstream level. not to say there aren’t any artists in the mainstream that don’t have that feel, it’s just that at least with the “unsigned, under-the-radar, bedroom artists” you know for sure that they aren’t held back by anything. period.
5. the best place to listen/download/buy your tunes? and any final words you’d like to say to the Internets?
go here for everything MaxPtah. and also thanks to you for putting this compilation together and including that song in it. thanks to everyone for their support. we genuinely love every single ounce of support that comes our way, even the criticism, because that would imply that you took the time to listen to our art. also i got an album coming out in August called “Live From Everywhere” so be on the lookout for that too. Peace!
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Max‘s track “El In Tune With Nature” (featuring Infinito 2017) appears on CONFESSIONS OF A CURLY MIND Vol. 1:.zip/.rar/Soundcloud.
being an advocate of any and everything the 80s had to offer stylistically, musically & overall aesthetically, i have of late MASSIVELY gotten into a series of podcasts/mixes by Com Truise (boss name, btw) called KOMPUTER CAST. they’re generally a nice even mix of 80s synthfunk, r&b & new wave, interspersed with his own material, 80s film soundtrack cuts and clips from classic 80s films (one also makes use of a presentation video for the Fairlight CMI). the few weeks i’ve spent living with em has further opened my eyes and ears to even more (a plethora, if u will) of 80s tunes i never knew existed (it starts with investigating one song off the tracklist on YouTube, which turns into a 4-hour sojourn of clicking the next promisingly-similar-looking “Recommended Video”). i thought it best to help share these vibes, as this shit is pretty much completing my existence right about now. yknow, in a musical way. CLICK ON THE FRONT COVER PICS FOR DIRECT DOWNLOADS OF EACH MIX VIA COM TRUISE’S OFFICIAL WEBSITE (tracklists are provided on his website & in the .zip file).
Max took to twitter & facebook last week and dropped info on his upcoming single “Of All Kind”, set to be released very soon (sometime in June), with the 2nd installment of the blacksummers’night trilogy dropping soon after that (he said “this Summer”). he also provided some of the lyrics on his FB post:
OF ALL KIND
one day in and the next you’re out
there’s no way to insure that no danger
will not be found
will your angels hear the sounds
will i ever be where you are where spirits go
if my end should come i can only hope that..
there is a light and no end in sight
where god and you are combined
in the brightest light of all kind..
and we come to what could be my favourite interview of the lot so far (even tho it’s the shortest it’s the most serendipitous). one late night almost a month ago i got into an 90s r&b mood, which happens pretty often as that’s the shit i mostly grew up listening to. so it kinda sticks and you end up having these 2-3hrs blocks of time where it’s nothing BUT 90s jams. in the midst of that, i naturally fired up some Jodeci. and as always i went to YouTube for the quick and easy access, where i stumbled onto a random video of a cool chick singin an acoustic track, simply titled “Beautiful Company”. weird thing was it was labeled as “Jodeci” as well, which i thought was a mistake. turns out, it’s not. after fallin in love with the song, i ended up using it as the last track on the C.O.A.C.M. Vol. 1 mix (after editing and EQing it a bit). eventually i got in touch with her ppls and here we are! get to know her, folks. i’ma do all i can to promo her stuff in future so keep an eye (and both ears) out.
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1. what’s your name, where are you from & how did you get involved with music?
my name is Jodeci Boyd, i’m from Moreno Valley. i got involved in music at a young age, i’ve always loved singing & listening to music, just the different styles & genres.
2. how did your particular track in the mix come about/is there a story behind its creation?
this song was written from a personal experience of mine. one day i was just in deep thought jamming, came up with the chords & just freestyled the lyrics.
3. who or what inspires you to create? and how do you STAY inspired?
my love for music, the struggle of life, any & everything good in life will continue to keep me inspired. i just wanna keep writing & keep telling others about my stories. maybe one day i’ll touch people on a way deeper level.
4. your opinion on copyright and the sharing of music? (specifically tunes made by unsigned, under-the-radar and bedroom artists that are then shared by fans?).
i think it’s awesome. i love that it gives artists leeway, it helps get them a little fan base going . this website inspired me to start posting more, seeing that people have been downloading it gives me more confidence to post more of my music for people to listen to.
5. the best place to listen/download/buy your tunes? and any final words you’d like to say to the Internets?
honestly i’d have to go with YouTube. it’s my favorite place to look for artists & music. i’m not big on being online anymore so i haven’t really been downloading music, but when i do i get it off of YouTube.
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Jodeci‘s laid back acoustic ditty “Beautiful Company” closes out the CONFESSIONS OF A CURLY MIND Vol. 1 mix (edited & re-mastered by moi). i truly appreciate the random way in which this song dropped into my life, not to mention it also helped spark this entire idea into existence. please take the time to check both the mix and the song out. SUPPORT GOOD MUSIC. download the mix here: .zip | .rar | Soundcloud.
what to say that hasn’t already been said? it’s simply good just to know he’s out there doing his thing. i think i enjoyed reading the outtakes much more than the central piece, mostly cos the main interview reminded me too much of the pre-album hype machine that exists behind D’Angelo. i’m not sure if HE realises it, but a lot of his angst and worry about the pitfalls of fame start within his own camp. and far more importantly, clearly the man himself couldn’t make the mental transition to handle his biz and not fall off the face of the Earth. the WORRY is that he’s still invoking the ghost of Marvin and still seeing himself as following the path of ‘died too young/died tragic phenom artist’. but most of it just sounds like regular music biz bullshit, which consists of what appears to be a very SICK evironment not conducive to free-thinking, mostly gentle souls who just wanna make the music they wanna make, and when they wanna make it. i see a lot of blame gets heaped at “Untitled”‘s door, which is complete fucking bullshit. everyone involved in the production of what sadly came to DEFINE D’s career KNEW EXACTLY WHAT THE FUCK THEY WERE DOIN.
shit was CALCULATED. that may sound like an accusation, but i’m not mad about it. i’m just not naive as hell. if D wants to TRULY regain the fans he left wandering for over a decade, dude’s gotta let go of ‘the image’ and be fucking honest about it all. this interview seemed like a good step in that direction. i wish nothing but onwards and upwards success for this man. freal.
brilliant film & awesome soundtrack. i won’t try to pretend to take credit for providing this gem (it was easy enough to find via the same ol blogsearch routines). i do, however, have a penchant for trying to provide somethin that’s either unavailable elsewhere or is in need of sharing to a wider audience. and that’s where this falls. plus after posting “Spend This Night With Me” on YouTube and getting such a positive responds, i feel they should probably have a spot to download the s/track for themselves. and yes Val Kilmer did all his own singing stunts.
01. skeet surfing (2:59) 02. are you lonesome tonight? (1:37) 03. how silly can you get (2:50) 04. straighten out the rug (2:01) 05. tutti frutti (1:42) 06. spend this night with me (3:31)
1. what’s your name, where are you from & how did you get involved with music?
my name is Justin Deremo. i’m from Joplin, Missouri but grew up in different areas due to my father being in the army, so that i don’t identify my childhood with any one particular place. when i was very small there were adults around who talked about music a lot so that i always assumed it to be a big part of life; i started paying close attention to MTV and the radio around seven. when i was 12 someone gave me a guitar and i took lessons. a year or two after that one of my friends purchased a four-track and a combination delay/pitch-shifter pedal that both remained at my house for unusually long periods of time. my musical activities continue to be an extension of sitting on the floor and playing with instruments and effects.
2. how did your particular track in the mix come about/is there a story behind its creation?
i let my emotions point organically to whatever forms or concepts may develop. the Joplin tornado is the dominant thread in “Bless No Stress,” but it also associatively alludes to the Japanese tsunami and Madonna’s “La Isla Bonita.” not in a way that makes complete sense intellectually, but rather as an impressionistic ebbing and flowing, similar to a dream environment. dub is the skeletal form on which associations are hung, appropriately so since where reggae may be thought of as conscious, so dub is the subconscious – literally the flip-side in the case of vinyl.
3. who or what inspires you to create? and how do you STAY inspired?
inspiration is anything that moves me, which may come from any area: personal life, the works of others, global events, public discourse. staying inspired is not something i perceive as a problem since there are infinite varieties of experiences and ideas in the world and i do not have enough time for everything i want to do/take in as it is.
4. your opinion on copyright and the sharing of music? (specifically tunes made by unsigned, under-the-radar and bedroom artists that are then shared by fans?)
it’s an artificial situation in the past century that music has become such a controllable economic commodity via physical recordings and mass-production. art may thrive independent of economics, suggesting that its inherent value is not economic. this isn’t to suggest some over-simplified idealism or to say that culture and economics don’t overlap, only that the way things are extends from the natural dynamic of average people sharing their talents with each other and heavily-subsidized art remaining the realm of the affluent or privileged. technology has revealed the artificial nature of the 20th-century economic situation with regards to music, causing the bubble to burst.
via the internet, we have access to greater numbers and varieties of people, allowing for more opportunities to share and learn from each other, not being stuck to our villages and towns. culture is surely at a peak, even as many lament its downfall. increased interactions means greater opportunity for mutation: more muck destined for extinction, but also more opportunities for evolution.
5. the best place to listen/download/buy your tunes? and any final words you’d like to say to the Internets?
BRILLIANT MOVE by The Jeep to branch out and guest feature on other tracks. not only do we get a mildly amusing hip hop ditty, but F Dot & Humma absolutely MURDER their verses, with Floss in particular addressing issues ppl have with Turquoise Jeep as a group, and also firmly asserting he is in fact NOT Charlie Murphy. the track is apparently an unfinished leak but is short n sweet enuf to be dope. KTJR!
1. what’s your name, where are you from & how did you get involved with music?
my name is Dimitrios, i use Tha-D.com and D.M.T. as production handles, i’m from the South East of Melbourne, Australia and my musical journey began when i was about 11 years old and i first heard Robert Miles‘ groundbreaking single “Children”. i started by experimenting with a keyboard, creating piano riffs that all followed the same vein as Miles‘ famous track. slowly learning the foundations of sequencing through Music2000 for the PsOne, teaching myself guitar and drums along the way, i’ve found myself in every form and genre of music over the last 17 years, creating sound and score composition for film, playing guitar in metal bands, beatboxing during hip-hop workshops. music, i love it.
2. how did your particular track in the mix come about/is there a story behind its creation?
i had spent the better half of the day working on some original score for a television commercial i had produced and decided i needed a mid-afternoon break. was listening to a lot of Zapp and Quik at the time, got inspired, whipped out the axe, played a few funky licks and here we are. just a regular 30 minute lunch break.
3. who or what inspires you to create? and how do you STAY inspired?
life is the biggest inspiration. my most memorable pieces have usually come from the biggest emotional episodes thrown at me. i stay inspired by new music, new adventures, new reflections. now, more than ever, people are reaching out to me to collaborate on stuff or even just hear my personal pieces. if music is to tell my story, it’s only up to me to add to the chapters.
4. your opinion on copyright and the sharing of music? (specifically tunes made by unsigned, under-the-radar and bedroom artists that are then shared by fans?).
thanks to the digital revolution, filesharing/copyright integrity has been a massive thing since its initial conception. plenty of argument coming from either side of the fence. as an art form every artist deserves to have the right to protect their work from plagiarism and maintaining their piece’s integrity. artists spend their early days dreaming of reaching a wider audience and it’s with that in mind i maintain an open approach to file sharing. distribution of my music has never been a concern. it’s when others profit from your hard work that it takes a sour turn. i know how many Friday nights i spent sitting in the lab perfecting my craft, countless jam sessions spent in rehearsal studios refining my sound. should someone profit from my life’s work before i is the line in the sand.
5. the best place to listen/download/buy your tunes? and any final words you’d like to say to the Internets?
some of the greatest pieces of music can be heard on our street corners, in our train station underpasses, on our city streets. talk to your friends, never hesitate to ask someone what it is they’re listening to. support your favourite artists. revisit the discography of yesteryear. to quote the man who began it all for me;
“Music: Indispensable component of life. . . Recognizes no limits and no confines. . . Uniting black with white, young with old and the good with the bad”
–Robert Miles.
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Tha D‘s Troutman-inspired jam “Return To D-Funk” appears exclusively on CONFESSIONS OF A CURLY MIND Vol. 1: .zip | .rar | Soundcloud.
1. what’s your name, where are you from & how did you get involved with music?
what’s up? my name is Lyle Horowitz. i’m from Queens, New York and i got involved with music through my first love, film production. i attempted to score a short film that i co-directed and things kinda evolved quickly from there…
2. how did your particular track in the mix come about/is there a story behind its creation?
the beat was originally created in the Nothing Says Hello Like Goodbye sessions, an album that i produced in one night and released the following day. during that time, i was working on some demos with a vocalist from Florida named Loud Pack Lucy and she heard the beat and recorded to it without hesitation. MidPoint (one half of Night Creatures, one of my side projects) offered to remix the song once the original was finished and that’s how this track came to be.
3. who or what inspires you to create? and how do you STAY inspired?
i’m just inspired by life and the pursuit of inner balance and personal growth. staying creative is never an issue, the wheels never stop turning and the well of ideas has never dried up.
4. your opinion on copyright and the sharing of music? (specifically tunes made by unsigned, under-the-radar and bedroom artists that are then shared by fans?)
i think especially for unsigned/bedroom artists, sharing is essential and actual damages are hard to quantify. then again, if you’re putting material out there for sale that is questionable to copyright laws, you have to assume the risk.
5. the best place to listen/download/buy your tunes? and any final words you’d like to say to the Internets?
the best way for you to listen to my tunes would be Bandcamp or by looking me up on YouTube. thank you for listening, i hope the music speaks for itself.
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1. what’s your name, where are you from & how did you get involved with music?
my name is MidPoint, though many know me as Staxwell. i am from the Bay Area and currently living in San Francisco, CA. music was always a centerpiece to my life, though i got into production in high school. i play drums and was in a few bands growing up, but a bassist i played with had turntables he wasn’t using so eventually i bought them off him and figured out how to record into my computer without an interface. i’ve just been building ever since. i also DJ.
2. how did your particular track in the mix come about/is there a story behind its creation?
Lyle Horowitz released a beat tape called Nothing Says Hello Like Goodbye and after hearing the Blue Lights instrumental, i hit up Lyle almost immediately about doing a remix. i have a string of remixes of Lyle’s work, so this was the next one on deck as far as i was concerned. Lyle told me he was already releasing a version of the track with Loud Pack Lucy and having a remix would be perfect for the single release. Lyle then sent me the sample (“143” by Musiq) and i went from there.
3. who or what inspires you to create? and how do you STAY inspired?
that is hard to say specifically. i am not one to really create stuff that doesn’t reflect who i am or how i feel, so i would say the greatest inspiration is just life in general. i try not to force anything so keeping the music honest is the best way to keep myself inspired.
4. your opinion on copyright and the sharing of music? (specifically tunes made by unsigned, under-the-radar and bedroom artists that are then shared by fans?).
giving back to the artist is always nice but artists making music to get paid aren’t doing it for the right reasons. in today’s climate it is much more viable to maintain an income with performances and such. that being said it’s great that artists can still make money. i am definitely not mad at anyone doing their thing, i just am not a fan of hearing artists complain about it. steal my music, share it with your friends.
5. the best place to listen/download/buy your tunes? and any final words you’d like to say to the Internets?
Bandcamp will have all available releases, however, catch me on Twitter.
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Lyle & MP’s joint (one of my personal favs) “Blue Lights” is featured among many awesome tunes selected by yours truly for a mix that promises, and delivers, eargasms. checkout CONFESSIONS OF A CURLY MIND Vol. 1 via .zip, .rar or Soundcloud.
1. what’s your name, where are you from & how did you get involved with music?
Options from Chicago. i was born with a love of drums, but it kinda stayed dormant until my college years when i was introduced to Hip Hop production. then it came back with a vengeance. my first piece of ‘gear’ was MTV Music Generator for the PlayStation. i actually still have that. it’d be fun to pull out and mess around with now…
2. how did your particular track in the mix come about/is there a story behind its creation?
this track is my remix of a song by the band Inspired Flight. it was for a contest. i didn’t win, but it ended up being a great exercise for me because it forced me to work differently than i do normally. rather than finding a nice vinyl bit and working from there, i’ve got a song in a particular key and with a particular vibe in a style other than Hip Hop to build around. it stretched me and gave me a hint of what i could do if i stepped outside of my comfort zone.
3. who or what inspires you to create? and how do you STAY inspired?
other artists inspire me to create. not just other musicians, but anyone creative, no matter what their medium is. seeing other people painting/writing/taking photos–whatever–and getting their ideas out makes me want to go home and get busy on my stuff. because of that, it’s not really hard to stay inspired.
4. your opinion on copyright and the sharing of music? (specifically tunes made by unsigned, under-the-radar and bedroom artists that are then shared by fans?).
i embrace what the internet has allowed artists to do. the tools we have to work with now for promotion and other things (which i honestly haven’t been using as much as i should!) are really amazing. a lot of unsigned artists just want to be heard, so it makes sense for them to make their music as easy to get as possible. if it’s then shared by fans, it only increases the artist’s profile, so it’s great up to a certain point. but the downside to sharing in general and the easy accessibility of everything is that things get devalued if they are so easy to get and replace. it can become disposable and no one wants their work to be viewed that way.
5. the best place to listen/download/buy your tunes? and any final words you’d like to say to the Internets?
for now, the best places are my Soundcloud page and my Bandcamp page where i recently put up an EP of tracks i made while living overseas the past couple of years. actually, almost everything i have online now is fairly old. the stuff i’m doing now is still Hip Hop at its core, but i’m incorporating aspects of other genres i listen to and just generally working to take tracks further than i used to.
as for final words, just a sincere ‘thank you’ to anyone/everyone who’s listening to/commenting on/downloading my stuff. there’s so much music floating out there now, so i appreciate anyone listening to ME. check out my sites and stay tuned because the new stuff is coming and i’m excited for people to hear it. also, peace to Vahé for this platform.
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Options‘ most awesome remix to the Inspired Flightoriginal is, imo, far superior and i’m proud to spotlight it for y’all here and in the CONFESSIONS OF A CURLY MIND Vol. 1 mix. download as .zip, .rar or via Soundcloud below:
if ur a Whedon fan, u should know what those two words represent and where u first heard the words uttered while a paper cut-out demon hopped across your screen. it should be etched into your memory as the moment Joss Whedon entered your pop cultural universe, planted his lawnchair and proceeded to build the nerd babylon we refer to as “The WHEDONverse”. you know you’ve made an impact when your name is associated with an entire UNIVERSE, even moreso when they start teaching courses at Universities on TV shows you’ve created. there have been many achievements to already elevate Joss into “god” status when it came to quality TV, film, comics, writing, directing, characterisation, tones of storytelling that frequently oscillate from every human emotion possible and countless mental/emotional/spiritual (one could argue)/COMEDIC punches to the fucking GUTS. but none of it ever seemed ENOUGH, nahmean?
i’m sure every Whedonite has gone through that almost alienated feeling when you’re completely head-over-heels for something he created, but somehow can never properly channel that love into coherent words when time came to attempt to explain it to someone you knew. but at the same time it’s a very KNOWING alienation, that even though your friends choose not to care, there IS a huge fanbase out there and they’re just as apeshit about the man’s work as you are. it’s that resolve (and the unending stream of classic material from Joss and his many minions) that’s solidified and exponentially grown his fanbase into what i will call “The Powderkeg Event” that is THE AVENGERS film, more specifically how awesomely awesome the fucking awesome thing is, and how awesomely it is DOMINATING in almost every corner of the globe right now. not to mention the crazy-ass box office returns (i think it’s already at 1.6 BILLION and counting?). at this point i have to check n make sure we ain’t in the bizarro version of life where talented individuals get rewarded in the end, VINDICATED even. but we kinda are. the epic legacy of Joss “Dance Of Joy” Whedon is, over the coming months and years, gonna be on full display for nerds like us to cheer on with immense glee, or for relative newbies to catch up on.
as a sign of that slowly but surely changing tide, the man himself wrote a congratulatory note to his fanboys and fangirls directly on his longtime fansite Whedonesque, touching on various issues in true Whedon fashion. there’s also a link to him teaching a guy how to poo at the very start of the article, make sure u catch that part lol.
The Purple. IN WHICH the guy who comes before “Esque” shares his deep depth, and then links you to a vid of him as a poop coach.
“YeahbuhWHUH?”
–Kitty Pryde
Dear Friends,
Well, it’s been quite a weekend. Someday, long from now, I will even have an emotional reaction to it, like a person would. I can’t wait! But before I become blinded by this “emotion” experience, there’s a few things I’d like to say. Well, type.
People have told me that this matters, that my life is about to change. I am sure that is true. And change is good — change is exciting. I think — not to jinx it — that I may finally be recognized at Comiccon. Imagine! Also, with my percentage of “the Avengers” gross, I can afford to buy… [gets call from agent. Weeps manfully. Resumes typing.] …a fine meal. But REALLY fine, with truffles and s#!+. And I can get a studio to finance my dream project, the reboot of “Air Bud” that we all feel is so long overdue. (He could play Jai Alai! Think of the emotional ramifications of JAI ALAI!!!!)
What doesn’t change is anything that matters. What doesn’t change is that I’ve had the smartest, most loyal, most passionate, most articulate group of — I’m not even gonna say fans. I’m going with “peeps” — that any cult oddity such as my bad self could have dreamt of. When almost no one was watching, when people probably should have STOPPED watching, I’ve had three constants: my family and friends, my collaborators (often the same), and y’all. A lot of stories have come out about my “dark years”, and how I’m “unrecognized”… I love these stories, because they make me seem super-important, but I have never felt the darkness (and I’m ALL about my darkness) that they described. Because I have so much. I have people, in my life, on this site, in places I’ve yet to discover, that always made me feel the truth of success: an artist and an audience communicating. Communicating to the point of collaborating. I’ve thought, “maybe I’m over; maybe I’ve said my piece”. But never with fear. Never with rancor. Because of y’all. Because you knew me when. If you think topping a box office record compares with someone telling you your work helped them through a rough time, you’re probably new here. (For the record, and despite my inhuman distance from the joy-joy of it: topping a box office record is super-dope. I’m an alien, not a robot.) So this is me, saying thank you. All of you. You’ve taken as much guff for loving my work as I have for over-writing it, and you deserve, in this our time of streaming into the main, to crow. To glow. To crow and go “I told you so”, to those Joe Blows not in the know. (LAST time I hire Dr. Seuss to punch my posts up. Yeesh!) Point being, you deserve some honor, AND you deserves some FAQs answered. So please welcome my old friend and certainly not-on-my-payroll reporter/flunky, Rutherford D. Actualperson!
RDA: So good to see you, young Joss! is it possible you’ve gotten more attractive since we last spoke, and less fungal in odor?
JW: Thanks for noticing. Let’s talk.
RDA: “the Scavengers” is a huge success! Does this mean you have changed the very fabric of existence?
JW: Dude, it’s just a movie. Also, yes.
RDA: I’ve seen a lot of a talk about “the Availers” vs “the Dark Knight Rises”. How will you feel if you’re eclipsed by Nolan?
JW: I’m glad I made you ask that. I will feel sad. But let’s look at the bigger picture, and I can’t say this enough: THIS IS NOT A ZERO SUM GAME. Our successes, whoever has the mostest, are a boon to each other. We’re in the business of proving that superhero movies aren’t just eye-candy (they’re eye-TRUFFLES!). People seem intent on setting us against each other, and though I’m proud to be Woody Strode to Nolan’s Kirk Douglas, I think they’re missing the point. Whatever TDKR does on its first weekend, the only stat that matters to me is the ticket I’M definitely buying. Nolan and Raimi INVENTED the true superhero flick, yo. (Special mention to Jon Favreau and James Gunn.) Happy to be in the mix.
RDA: What does this mean for your upcoming slate of tiny independent films/Internet shenanigans? Will they fall by the wayside?
JW: There may be new ideas realized — I always leave myself open to that — but my commitment to Wastelanders and Dr H.2 does not waver. Those stories bubble on my stove.
RDA: And TV?
JW: TV is my great love. To tell stories with that alacrity, intensity, and immediacy… Nothing quite like it. I imagine it’s not dissimilar to the feeling great poker players have: “Here’s what I got, here’s where I’m going… How to trick everybody into thinking I know what I’m doing?” [Full disclosure : Joss hates poker. He is probably talking about bridge. But it should apply nonetheless.].
RDA: What message would you give fans of “the Lavenders” who are not so familiar with your previous work?
JW: “Cabin In the Woods”: still in (some) theaters!
RDA: Is ‘the Ravengers” a perfect movie? It did get an A+ cinemascore…
JW: There are very few perfect movies. “The Court Jester”, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, “Godfather” I & II… The list does not go on and on. “The Avengers” is notably IMperfect, which makes its success mean so much more to me — because it’s striking a chord that matters MORE than its obvious flaws. Like the team, it appears to be more than the sun of its parts. Boo-yah!
RDA: What do you feel is the greatest achievement of “the Avoiders”?
JW: Getting “mewling quim” out there to the masses. Also, Hulk.
RDA: Anyone in particular you’d like to thank?
JW: [Reads from notecard]. I couldn’t have done this myself. Part of this Saturn Award belongs to Jeremy Latcham, Kevin Feige, and the fine Marvel folk… But the secret ingredient is my closest peeps: J-Mo, who did uncredited punch-up work (carrier battle, yo!), Z-bro, Drew “I am Loki only taller and foppier” Goddard, and Kai, all of whom worked the story with me. Without them (and Jeremy), I’d still be figuring out how the Wasp fits in to this, and where to put Red Hulk.
RDA: What’s next for Joss “finally got it right for a change” Whedon?
JW: Can we not call me that?
RDA: Just deal. Whut up?
JW: I really think we should discuss that nickname, but I’m finishing “Much Ado About Nothing” this month. If you liked “the Avengers”, you’ll love… I can’t. It’s Shakespeare. And not in the park. I hope it gets watched.
RDA: Any message to your precious “Whedonesk?”
JW: Whedonettes?
RDA: Weeble-eque?
JW: I’m not aware of that group.
RDA: Didn’t they know you when?
JW: I’m not sure who you mean. I’m discarding my old fans so I can concentrate on fame, Euro-trash guy-jewelry and my precious “Air Bud” reboot. But, dude, don’t print that!
RDA: You have my word.
So, that’s our post! Hope you enjoyed it. Hope you’ll continue to carry the banner even though other people may have joined the parade. (Kind of a gay pride/Newsies vibe: sentence accomplished!) Hope you understand how I feel. Cliff notes: grateful.
“Here’s to us. Who’s like us? Damn few”
— Stephen Sondheim, “Merrily We Roll Along”.
“It took a dog playing Jai Alai to teach us humanity!”
–Me, in that awesome film I’m gonna make.
brilliant chill release from Anthony Valadez of Plug Research, with co-production by The Park and featuring the vocals of Mar (whose profile just keeps rising far as i’m concerned, plus he knows how to knock a song out the frign park). Full Crate switches it up on the remix tip with equally pleasant results. an all-round solid release y’all SHOULD be paying more attention to (but who the fuck am i to be forceful? oh wait, it’s my blog therefore an extension of my inner mental universe, so…just do it).
all songs are available for purchase via iTunes. n you can find out more about Mr. Valadez at his official Plug Research page.
1. what’s your name, where are you from & how did you get involved with music?
peace.
my name is CB010 hailing from South American Surinamese roots and experiencing life lessons in the city of Rotterdam, Netherlands.
at the early age of 4-5 years i got injected with the music serum via my parents record collection. they played their records mostly on weekends and moulded my knowledge of the usual suspects: Stevie, Curtis, James, EW&F, Diana, Micheal, P-Funk and all sorts of soul. Pops introduced me to a lot of Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Zappa, Ozzy and Bob Marley.
when i was about 8 years old i took a first glance at my uncle’s homestudio. finally i was old enough to enter his room. the first thing i saw was a beat machine, i believe it was a Boss DR-55. pushed my wig back!
from that day on i was in search of all the kicks, snares and hats i could find and knew i wanted drum lessons.
2. how did your particular track in the mix come about/is there a story behind its creation?
i’m just going to dissect the beat and name the original samples.
the bassline is from Ronnie Foster‘s “Mystic Brew“. i dont know what it is about minor key chords/notes but i just know that i love ’em. Tribe already sampled RF so i wanted to make it different from theirs. so the notes are chopped and replayed in a 1/8th pattern.
the drums are stock sounds i believe. I tried to EQ them but sh*t this beat was made in 2008 i think and really, i didn’t give much about EQ-ing mainly because i just didn’t know what i was doing. the programming of the kicks also point out the fact that i was still trying to figure out how to lay out my drums.
the kicks are all over the place!
flute and guitarish sample are from Gil Scott-Heron/Brian Jackson‘s “Winter In America” record. i sort of tried to emulate Pete‘s usage of horns with the guitar sample hence the delay lol.
vocals *uh* and *yeah* are from a friend of mine. instead of sampling James‘ grunts i wanted to do it myself. he recorded it in his phone, i made a copy of it in .wav and got it poppin’.
3. who or what inspires you to create? and how do you STAY inspired?
my brother from another, beatmaker/MC BlackMagick.
when i was figuring out sampling, he already made a beattape with Nas‘ vocals.
always one to share he introduced me into proper EQ-ing, compression and mixing your own music.
since we made the decision to go record digging we got the idea to do a beattape together wich is currently in the making.
i stay inspired by different beatmakers all over the world who uphold the legacy of sampling raw drums and samples. next to the ususal suspects Dil, Lib, Kev, 9th and many more, there are some DOPE beatmakers on OKP and i’m naming names!: e-classic, MISTA MONOTONE, A Love Supreme, jp, Admbmb, philpot, DVS and much more keep me inspired to not make any wack sh*t.
4. your opinion on copyright and the sharing of music? (specifically tunes made by unsigned, under-the-radar and bedroom artists that are then shared by fans?).
to each his own.
you wanna download all your stuff go ahead and do it. i love artwork though and reading about the process of making the album (liner notes).
personally i love music and the effect of discovering new artists. every once in a while i stumble upon some new music from independent artists. if i dig it i know my folks will also dig it so i share. now if someone releases music on iTunes or Bandcamp for a buck/euro or 2 i will support it for the development of the artform.
5. the best place to listen/download/buy your tunes? and any final words you’d like to say to the Internets?
well besides Soundcloud, OKP Boards and Bandcamp i would say support your local record store! shouts to my love, the fam, Okayplayer and the world!
one love!
1. what’s your name, where are you from & how did you get involved with music?
my name is Davu Flint, i’m from Pittsburgh PA, i’m from a musical family: my grandfather, uncles, brother and sister are all great musicians, so music was all over. plus Pittsburgh is a very creative place with a lot of great artists to collaborate and build with. it was a great musical education.
2. how did your particular track in the mix come about/is there a story behind its creation?
i was at my girl’s house when i heard the sample, which was this old Death joint…so i headed home and chopped it up, laid the bassline on the Rhodes, and it kinda came together real lovely. it’s one of those joints you make late at night, when the world is still and quiet, and at the time i was living out in Ocean Beach in San Francisco, which is mad peaceful, and all those things definitely comes through the vibe of the track i think…
3. who or what inspires you to create? and how do you STAY inspired?
the ever consuming desire to go All-World for props, getting up, the need to inspire blatant acts of ill shit, gear (both music and otherwise), comic books, musicians, old films and living in California keep me inspired and in the lab. inspiration is where u find it.
4. your opinion on copyright and the sharing of music? (specifically tunes made by unsigned, under-the-radar and bedroom artists that are then shared by fans?)
please take my music wherever you can find it. spread the word. tell ya Moms. please.
5. the best place to listen/download/buy your tunes? and any final words you’d like to say to the Internets?
davu.bandcamp.com has my latest record: “Soundbytes And Stereotypes”, which is a record i’m really proud of. it’s just some soulful spacey ill shit i made. cop that. stay tuned for an instrumental version of the album as well as a new EP, “The Life and Times”, in August.
peace, love and stay tuned…
—
Davu‘s track “Strange Days” appears exclusively on CONFESSIONS OF A CURLY MIND Vol. 1. available from either the .zip or .rar files (as separated n tracked) or as single-file mix via Soundcloud.
since this is the first of many forthcoming 5 Question mini-interviews, lemme explain WHY. recently i released a mix specifically for (and titled after) this blog, and put the call out to indie/underground/unsigned/bedroom artists to send me their links so i can choose a single track and eventually have enough to make a mix. and afterwards my intent was to spotlight as many of the contributing artists as possible via 5 Question interview. so to kick off what is sure to be an enlightening series of wordy pieces: the story of Pete Marriott.
—
1. what’s your name, where are you from & how did you get involved with music?
i’m Pete Marriott one half of Breukelen Marriott which consists of myself and Mr. Man (Da’ Bush Babees). we have single dropping this Summer and working on an album i think is dropping next year.
i’m a veteran Record Producer and Radio Mix Show DJ originally from East Flatbush, NY. i currently reside in Seattle where i operate my studio, The Tool Shed, which is a hybrid studio where i use both analog and digital technologies to create, record, produce, mix and remix records for myself and artists i collaborate with.
my hit single “The Champ Is Here” went to number one on the charts last Summer and since then quite a bit of production and remix work came my way and i’m in my studio readying several singles i produced and remixed that are dropping on various labels this Summer.
i originally started out as a DJ at the age of 8 years old, but i accomplished two life changing achievements in my life when i was only 15 years old. the first was, i produced my very first single, the underground hip hop classic “Let’s Make Some Noise” b/w “This Is The B-Side”.
this led to my DJing for New York’s WNWK which was the very first radio station to play hip hop music anywhere in the world which back then made me NYC’s youngest on-air mix show DJ in the 1980’s and i currently DJ for Nyce-FM and Open Season Radio so i’m no stranger to this hip hop music scene.
i don’t have a publicist who writes my answers for me, so what you’re reading are my real thoughts with my real words.
2. how did your particular track in the mix come about/is there a story behind its creation?
“The Kidnapping” is actually a song that i recorded with Romance in 1988 when he was 15 years old and i just turned 18. i recorded him in my then production partner Marley’s basement to 4-track cassette using a Sure SM-57 mic that Romance had to hold in his hand while our entire crew which consisted of my old group Da’ Goodfellaz, Benz of the Drednotz, and Lord Supreme had to shut the hell up and be quiet in between takes. there was 8 dudes in the basement the day we recorded this song and you’ll hear those voices on the single.
i did the beats and Romance wrote and performed all the rhymes and we did an album worth of songs which we shopped and there was a bidding war for him which eventually turned into a major label deal that went nowhere fast. Romance got shelved. he was and still is one of the nicest MC’s to ever come out of Brooklyn that sadly the general public never had a chance to hear on a record until now.
how you came to hear the song as you know it, is two years ago my Grandmother passed away and while my Uncle was cleaning out her house he found the shoeboxes of cassettes i left with her for safekeeping. she had them hidden in a closet with my name marked on them. i moved from New York years ago and totally forgot i left the cassette masters with her and my Uncle was going to disregard them as rubbish and dump them, but he said he had a very strong feeling to call me first and when he did and told me what he found, it was a genuine “oh shit!” moment for me and i had UPS pick them up and shipped to me from Brooklyn to Seattle.
it was a good thing too, because i now have a box set worth of these 4-track and 8-track cassette masters from the 80’s and 90’s that hip hop purists are going to lose their minds over when we release these joints one after another.
what you’re actually hearing in your mix is a very rough unmixed transfer from the 4-track cassette master to FL Studio that i cleaned up a little and slapped a little echo on it. the official complete single is dropping on iTunes and Amazon July 3rd, 2012. i really can’t wait for you to hear it, i did a really great job making it into a real record!
there’s a video we did for Image-Line who are the developers of FL Studio where i demonstrate the transfer and production process of the single and you’ll see that soon enough as we get closer to the release date. we also have a music video for “The Kidnapping” in the works too and it’s gonna be dope as fuck!
i’m really excited about this single and the support we’re getting for it so far. this is a great precursor single to my new album. it’s a part of real hip hop history and people are finally going to know who Romance, Benz and Lord Supreme are. these guys are my Brothers and i love them all and they all deserve their proper places in hip hop history because they are all great MCs.
i’m really happy about this project seeing the light of day.
3. who or what inspires you to create? and how do you STAY inspired?
i hope i don’t sound clichéd, but i actually love and live real hip hop music and real hip hop culture.
i make records because i have a genuine love and passion for the music and if you’re just as passionate as i am about the music then you can talk to me on a very real level about Freddie Vs. Miles or why you prefer the Alesis 3036 over the DBX 266a or debate me in a Bleeker Bob’s Vs. Bop Street discussion and we’ll build with each other for like forever.
hip hop music is something i grew up doing my entire life from the 1970’s living in Brooklyn with my Grandmother and visiting my Dad in the Bronx. i know first hand what it is and was fortunate enough to get in both the record and radio industries at a young age.
when guys like Q-Tip, O’mas Keith, Jake One, Nottz, Gensu Dean and Ski Beats shout me out on Facebook and tell me they think my records are dope, that keeps me going. it lets me know that people who i actually respect as producers, also respect me. so it helps me appreciate the 3, 800+ people who sought me out on Facebook and liked me because they heard a record i produced or remixed even more, that’s what keeps me going.
4. your opinion on copyright and the sharing of music? (specifically tunes made by unsigned, under-the-radar and bedroom artists that are then shared by fans?).
it’s kinda weird for me to say this, but i kinda despise what internet culture has done to music culture. i don’t hate the internet, but the culture in regards to music i find kinda distasteful.
did it give musicians like myself a lane to make a name for ourselves through our music? yes, but it also encouraged a very naive audience to have a very false sense of entitlement. music fans now expect you to give them your music for free so in my mind as an indie artist i have to kinda, sorta oblige their borg-like collective groupthink mentality, but as you realize by now i’m being strategic about it today.
look what i’ve done, i gave you an unmixed snippet of a song i knew we were making into a single, but i did not give you the fully produced and arranged, completed, mixed and mastered single. although what i gave you was an exclusive that no other DJ or blogger has, which truthfully in my opinion is something that only a true music geek with good tastes can appreciate, it’s still not the real single.
it’s not the commercialized ready for radio version that is worth a music video budget or promotion campaign that the label is putting their energy and money behind, it’s just a unpolished unmixed snippet that is effective enough to pique people’s interest. so when the actual record drops, people who may have glossed over it will pay immediate attention to when they hear the real single of the song and see the music video and there will be a prolonged effect because of the familiarity of it.
in the old days we didn’t have to play that kinda head game with the music audience, but today you have to, because their attention spans are incredibly low thanks to Twitter, Instagram and other mind-reducing social platforms, so now you have to spoon feed these kids so they will be willing to absorb the heavy doses when the actual record drops.
the buzz on a indie single is no longer than four days after it drops. and indie album’s even shorter, so how do you get people to pay longer attention to good music today? the same way we pushed “The Champ Is Here” to #1.
i made a dope record that my fellow mix show DJs can get behind 100%, but we dropped a few breadcrumbs on the way via the internet by giving the fans what they felt entitled to, a free incomplete version of that record so when they heard the radio ready retail version on their favorite mix shows, they fell in love with it and requested it and it climbed to the top position on several charts.
this is what it takes today, and by my sharing this information with you, i’m not opening a can of worms, but i certainly find it disturbing because it says a great deal about the audience and that should scare every indie artist to death. because even the smart fans who are aware of how fucked up music culture is right now is locked into this ultra sad state of affairs and can’t escape from it.
this is what internet culture has done to us all and until fans buy our music again it’s going to get worse.
5. the best place to listen/download/buy your tunes? and any final words you’d like to say to the Internets?
i personally enjoy Spotify for streaming music i’m familiar with, if i really want to discover music i jump in the car and drive to a record store with my Numark PT-01 portable turntable and listen to a band or an artist i never heard of before or always wanted to check out.
on the other hand i financially support a lot of indie artists who use Bandcamp, Soundcloud, Topspin and Vibedeck. and quite a few artists can personally tell you themselves that i’m a big contributor to their Kickstarter campaigns. if it’s good music and i believe in you as an artist, producer or whatever, i will do what i can to help your campaign as well as put my money where my Facebook updates is.
i own legit copies of Gensu Dean’s “Lo-Fi Fingahz” CD, LP and two 7” singles as well as the legal download and i went hard for him on my Facebook Fan Page and on my radio show. i post pics of these purchases because i want to encourage people to support good music again and some people write me and tell me that they too purchased that album after seeing me go hard for him. they had no idea who he was but they knew who i was so i got them interested because i was passionate enough to get them to check for him.
if your music is that dope, i will go hard for you. i also went hard for Robert Glasper and i’m about to do the same for Darryl Reeves who is just a incredible musician! i’m telling you right now to go buy everything these guys are selling because their music is too awesome not to collect their works.
the unsigned artists on your mix should be going extra hard for each other right now. they should be reaching out to each other seeking to collaborate with each other in any form or fashion. i hear so much potential that i’m going to reach out to a few people when i have some free time. that’s my word!
and of course, check out an extended snippet of Pete‘s single “The Kidnapping” as part of CONFESSIONS OF A CURLY MIND Vol. 1. u can grab either the .zip or .rar files (as separated n tracked) or cop the single-file mix via Soundcloud below 🙂
after an Internet reaction that only served to highlight just how DUMB most of us are, Brian McKnight rolled with the punches and went ahead n released the FULL VERSION of this panty-dropper, now officially titled as: iFUrReady2Learn (C.A.T.S.). i will refrain from posting the mp3 as i think Brian deserves all the coin he can get for this track. so i’ve got a YouTube link below or u can buy it @ iTunes here.
i still can’t believe how quickly this event has crept up on us…AGAIN. seems like Nolan’s been getting us fanboys in a frenzy like clockwork since Batman Begins. 2012 will be no different. i am only seeing this in IMAX, btw. i highly recommend y’all do the same. but for now, the newest trailer (and probly the best outta the bunch, even without a collapsing football field).
long-time associate DVS (who i know of via the OKP famalam) is finally set to release his long-awaited debut LP “DVS 4 Alderman” (with an assist from production wiz tREBLEFREE & WindiMoto). here’s a 10min preview of what to expect (check b/w 7:54-8:40 to hear my contribution to the album, on the production tip).
V.
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