MUSIC

Kitchen sink Scuzz n’ Bass from 1998 Tokyo. Existing somewhere between Drum n Bass, Musique Concrète, Free Jazz and Noise,
Jigen (aka Taro Nijikama) ran the cult Shi-Ra-Nui imprint and was a lynchpin of Tokyo's underground music scene, working as much behind the scenes as in front of them.

There is an inherent grit to the work on display here. Jazz-inflected
drums, echoing bells, dissonant flutes, and haunting piano work coarsely interact with skipping breaks and industrial atmospherics, punctuated by tense gasps of silence. Samples disintegrate and reappear, creating a kind of elliptical narrative, and the 9 tracks here perhaps trigger a disorienting sense of dèjá vu.

Originally released on CD by Shi-Ra-Nui in 1998, Double Circumflex is
proud to present the first officially licensed reissue of Stone Drum Avantgardism by Jigen and introduces the prescient sound of Shi-Ra-Nui for deeper excavation into its shadowy fissures. Remastered and cut with maximum precision by Beau Thomas at Teneightseven.

This album starts the journey of Unruly Records by featuring some of the early tracks and artists who helped shape the sound of "Club Music". These songs were originally released between 1991 & 1995 and took dance-floors in Baltimore by storm. There is also a full color insert which paints a picture of that moment in time. In support of Baltimore City's Inaugural "Baltimore Club Music Day" on June 17th, we put together this anthology to kick off our "Anthology" collection/series which will initially start with 3 installments. Be on the lookout for "Anthology 1996 double album next year!

In 2003, MF DOOM introduced us to one of his most intriguing alter egos, Viktor Vaughn. As the story goes, Viktor Vaughn was an interdimensional time-traveling MC from another realm where Hip-Hop was banned. He’d been exploring time and space looking for new dimensions to sharpen his MC skills, which eventually led him to 90s era NYC, where he found himself stranded from a mechanical mishap with his time machine. He began hitting open mics and small venues, battling other MCs and picking up side-hustles in order to raise the funds to repair his time machine.Vaudeville Villain is a concept album like no other, where MF DOOM re-envisions himself as a younger, hungrier, more brazen persona in order to explore a different point of view. Of course, developing a second self from a more technologically advanced universe, he took a new approach to the production too. Viktor Vaughn fittingly raps over next-school beats that move freely in spaces between Electronica and Hip Hop, courtesy of Sound-Ink producers King Honey, Heat Sensor and Max Bill, along with one track from RJD2. Vaudeville Villain is one of the more uniquely creative entries in the MF DOOM universe.

Originally scheduled for release back in 1994 but scrapped due to controversial cover art, K.M.D.'s follow-up to their debut Mr. Hood was considered to be one of the Holy Grail records in the annals of hip-hop history. The death of group member Sub-Roc in a car accident squashed the future of K.M.D. shortly after it was recorded. Employing ideals and samples from the album The Blue Guerilla by Kain of the Last Poets, the tone of this record was to be dramatically different than their first, which was lighthearted and playful while still spreading a message about racial stereotypes. Volatile yet poignant tracks like "What a Nigga Know" and "Black Bastards!" are hip-hop fireballs. Subjects like alcoholism ("Sweet Premium Wine"), drug use ("Smokin' That S*#%"), and women ("Plumskinzz") were all touched upon with incendiary tones. The sound of the record is very raw and sounds unfinished due to Elektra shelving the project, but it doesn't take away from the magic that would have made this a suitable follow-up. ~ Douglas Siwek

First making waves with the almost cult level ‘Hype Williams’ project, and then more recently solo and as part of the group Babyfather, the new 8 track LP sees Dean Blunt step back into the shadowy role of producer for a new band called Blue Iverson. It’s a vibesey one, this; digging a vein of smoke-hazed living/bedroom feels in eight parts that could almost be passed off as a Dam-Funk jam. Well, almost, but there’s still something off kilter and economical about the fidelity and mixing of the recording that hints it’s from the UK, or is even made to sound like the private pressed soul obscurities picked out by PPU. Hotep strongly reminds of those lush soul bits from Yves Tumor’s Serpent Music or even selected Letherette cuts released on Alex Nut’s namesake label. The image of Lauryn Hill on the sleeve is a cherry on the cake.

22 track album, feat. NxWorries (Anderson .Paak & Knx), Durand Bernarr, Rose Gold.

#BurningDesire super thank you to my big brother naavin, none of this would be possible without you. thank you for sticking with me through it even when it’s not as sunny. blood couldn’t make us more family than we already are! biggest love to aint wet, to mikey for always being the most helpful in the technical sides of things and abe for being the genius that he is. i’m so grateful for how your mind works and always incorporates everyones input. you are a once in a lifetime! thank you :)) biggest thanks to my real life twin cynthia, i appreciate the love and motivation you show towards my art and me as a friend! 🫀🫀 your light illuminates all of us!!! biggest thanks to klein, a creative pillar, always informing me and pushing me in ways to expand my creative world even more. big shout out to my big brother thebe, you lead without even knowing! grateful to be a writer alongside u & many greats! biggest love to the paris/manchester/amsterdam/lisboa/bk excursion gang. that trip saved my happiness and is a big factor to why this project was even able to be done. big shout out to laron for swinging the beat for snake charm. literally one of my favorite producers ever! glad 6/7 years down the line, niggas still in this shit! worldwide! biggest thanks to liv.e & venna for the amazing job they did on u think maybe? it brings tears to my eyes every time, liv.e angelic voice and venna whooping ass on saxophone. thank you to the full band, y’all came so clutch in such a quick time. (immanuel simelane & rashaan brown) biggest love to gabe for always mixing the shit out these songs and creating a very relaxed n calm space when doin so!!! ur very much appreciated!! biggest thanks to gawd for sending the beat for asff, ur a goat n the world gon see it if they not already!!1 thank you to shanice for heart turning poem on real love, u r the goat and i appreciate the love you show to me and my work. it means the most twin!!!!! thank you to my brother taka for always being an inspiration and honest voice. thank you for coming along the way w me this whole time. your work & presence is appreciated brodi!!!! thank you to my big brudda brayan for always being a creative inspiration as well and just a general moral compass in this confusing world! i love you broski! you teach me so much! biggest thanks to my brother cousteau, you’re golden and such a talented scribe!!! biggest thanks to my brother niontay, grateful to have met you and i am grateful your loyalty and friendship in this thang! y’all two are some of the craziest writers i have come across, thank you for seeing me worthy! biggest love to lila for blessing should be!, brooklyn legend, it’s an honor to have you on the album!!! biggest love to larry june for being so open to work and losing his mind on that mf verse!! greatest appreciation to mark williams lewis as well for creating such an atmospheric place on the outro. your music amazes me, thank you! biggest thanks to nick who drove for us on tour, he don’t know but that me being in my chief keef era statement boosted mines all the way. thank you to squills, marc, jasper, nicky w, cruzin, ian, m, sideshow, anysia for that amazing time on the road. i am so grateful to be surrounded by such profound artist and light spirits. you guys brought joy to my life! Thank you to my little & big sisters, yaw all inspire me so much and I couldn’t be a prouder brother !! thank you to my father and my beautiful queen for watching over me and praying for me always, I love y’all bigger than I can explain! there’s so many more ppl i could talk about, but i love y’all so much. my life has light, i appreciate y’all

Shades of Yesterday is the new covers album by DJ Harrison – 11 tracks that pay homage to his musical heroes, representing some of his most treasured childhood memories, out February 9th on Stones Throw. It was created over several years at his home studio Jellowstone, where he also created his previous two Stones Throw albums, 2021’s Tales from the Old Dominion and 2017’s HazyMoods. The announcement comes with a new song, too. “L’Anthropofemme” is a cover of French group Syntaxe.“L’Anthropofemme” was first introduced to DJ by Tyler, the Creator during an L.A. studio session where the two artists shared some of their most loved songs. Last year, Harrison shared “Lil Birdie”, a cover from Vince Guaraldi’s iconic A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special, and a cover of Donald Fagen’s “IGY”, which he decided to record after opening for the Steely Dan legend in his hometown of Richmond, Virginia. While DJ Harrison has spent his career as a sought-after collaborator, playing in the funk-jazz fusion outfit Butcher Brown and collaborating with Pink Siifuu, Joyce Wrice, and winning two Grammy nominations for his work with Kurt Elling, Shades of Yesterday was created solo, with Harrison playing almost every instrument himself.

Madvillain, a super popular hip-hop duo consisting of MF Doom & Madlib, has stocked a cassette version of the monumental masterpiece released by in 2004! This gritty analog texture, the stagnation beats that Madlib keeps throwing in, and the drunken Doom flow just intoxicate the listener. There is no moment like yawning, and a terrifying finish that does not make you feel any gap from beginning to end. Please enjoy one of the centuries that represents hip-hop in the 2000s with the sound quality of cassettes!

"Drawing" cover, aka "Old Donuts," the unofficial name for the original edition of J Dilla's Donuts 2/LP with an illustrated sleeve, the way the vinyl was originally released in 2006.

Madvillain, a super popular hip-hop duo consisting of MF Doom & Madlib, has stocked a cassette version of the monumental masterpiece released by in 2004! This gritty analog texture, the stagnation beats that Madlib keeps throwing in, and the drunken Doom flow just intoxicate the listener. There is no moment like yawning, and a terrifying finish that does not make you feel any gap from beginning to end. Please enjoy one of the centuries that represents hip-hop in the 2000s with the sound quality of cassettes!

"Drawing" cover, aka "Old Donuts," the unofficial name for the original edition of J Dilla's Donuts 2/LP with an illustrated sleeve, the way the vinyl was originally released in 2006.

Cult Gangsta Raπ Classic by Tre-8 's cousin Death.

"As a discarded record collection of notorious Cafe Extase crossed their path, Left Bank constructed their own warped version of club music. The era was acid-jazz, p-funk and rare groove, the records covered in thick layers of mold and dust. Recorded a few streets from where the action once took place, Kelder Extase forms a musical resurrection of a basement that has disappeared."

DJ Shadow, aka Josh Davis, could be credited with bringing newfound introspection to the gloating sounds of hip-hop. Condensed with urban oscillations and scatological beats, 1996's Endtroducing shudders with eclectic samples and aural montages that reach beyond the constraints of hip-hop style. Enhancing the mix with fundamentals of rock, soul, funk, ambient, and jazz, the modern fusions fail to go unnoticed, even by the casual listener. While most of the tracks are compiled by layering samples from vinyl treasures found in used-record bins, the production quality of the mosaic is unmatched. Darkened melodies carry throughout the album with its eye on the end of the tunnel. The narration samples come from numerous sources and keep the listener involved and waiting for resolution. With a message as fragmentary as an overheard conversation, Endtroducing conveys no apparent conclusion, but begs the mind, body, and soul for some rewind.

Sleaford Mods are pleased to announce the release of their cover of the Pet Shop Boys’ iconic single “West End Girls”, with all profits from the track going to the homeless charity Shelter.

The Nottingham duo created a version of the 1986 classic between tours for their latest album UK GRIM, and then sought the blessing of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe to put out the track.

Not only did Sleaford Mods’ “West End Girls” meet with the pair’s approval, but the Pet Shops Boys were inspired to remix the cover which will feature as one of the tracks on the limited edition single.

Hifi Sean has also contributed an Acid House meets Hi-NRG remix for the release, while Sleaford Mods’ own Andrew Fearn has added a heady vocoder led mix under his solo guise of Extnddntwrk.

Clearly apparent from their own minimal approach to music, the Pet Shop Boys have always been an important influence for Sleaford Mods, with Chris and Neil’s ability to merge sophisticated electronics and rich character often serving as a lodestar for the partnership between producer Andrew Fearn and front man Jason Williamson.

This esteem for the Pet Shop Boys can be clearly heard on their take on “West End Girls”, although Jason and Andrew have not flinched from creating a version of the song which is truly Sleaford Mods.

If the original is a sophisticated exposé of the heartlessness of 80s Thatcherite Britain while also paying tribute to people’s ability to shine despite living in brutal times, then Sleaford Mods’ have skillfully distressed the shimmering classic with sharp synths and scuffed-up vocals, offering a sense of the resilience now required to survive in our disconnected and dysfunctional days.

“’West End Girls’ is a song that’s very close to my heart, my coming-of-age track in so many ways.” says Andrew Fearn of the original.
Jason Williamson continues, “I’ve been listening to the Pet Shop Boys albums ‘Please’ and ‘Actually’ a lot, the music still fits this landscape so well. When Andrew suggested we cover “West End Girls”, it was important to honour the track’s brilliance. So when Neil and Chris gave the track their blessing, our tiny minds were blown, and when we received their remix… it was almost too much, it was brilliant!”

Neil/Chris added… “Sleaford Mods have brought East End boys back to the West End streets for a great cause and we love their new version.”
Sleaford Mods “West End Girls” cover will be available on a limited edition 12-inch with remixes from the Pet Shop Boys, HiFi Sean and Extnnddntwrk, which can be pre-ordered now ahead of release on 15th December. All tracks will be available to stream from 21st November.

Profits generated by the single are being donated by Sleaford Mods to the charity Shelter, details of their work can be found at www.shelter.org.uk

Experimental electronic hip hop duo H31R (pronounced heir/air) – composed of New Jersey producer/composer JWords and Brooklyn rapper/vocalist maassai – announce their latest release ‘HeadSpace’ on Ninja Tune imprint Big Dada. The album follows their exceptional debut release, 2020’s ‘ve·loc·i·ty’, which immediately caught the attention from Pitchfork, The Wire, Brooklyn Vegan, Okayplayer, Cabbages, Bandcamp and more. With the announcement, H31R share their first preview of ‘HeadSpace’ with their lead single “Backwards”, accompanied with a music video by Mike Weir.

Speaking on the music video for “Backwards”, H31R says, “Working on the visual for Backwards was a great experience and we're really glad to see our vision come to life after having the concept for so long. We got to both pay homage to creatives we admire and also create something new with it.”

Director Mike Weir adds, “When H31R approached me to do the video I was all giddy cause I loved the idea of making a video like The Pharcyde's ‘Drop’. I think we've made something special and I hope people out there enjoy it.”

‘HeadSpace’ notes a new stage of adulthood for the duo; coming to terms with a new understanding of who they are and exploring how they want to interact with the world. Like its predecessor, ‘HeadSpace’ maneuvers through its 14 tracks with blazing speed. “Glitch In Time” sets the tone for the album with gritty bass, groovy drums and quirky melodies resonating throughout. It contains moments of introspection and self-reflection on songs like “Static” and “Reflection” while the edifying diptych of “Rotation” – an oscillating track capturing the essence of dark and light – and “All Over The Place”, which transcends duality and expands to a multidimensional self, signify markers of growth. Elsewhere is “Backwards” which, despite its name, is a propulsive track that seeks to move forward from things holding someone back, and “Train of Thought”, that examines the mechanisms of thinking, starting off more concrete before gradually becoming abstract by the song’s end.

‘HeadSpace’ also features contributions from the likes of rising Chicago-based rapper and producer Semiratruth on the affirming “Glass Ceiling”, and a playful verse from Detroit-based GRAMMY-nominated producer and rapper Quelle Chris on “Down Down BB”.

H31R blends electronica and hip hop together creating an enigmatic but complementary sonic experience that pushes the fickle boundaries of genre. JWords and maassai both grew up listening to a variety of genres and later using the sounds of their youth to expand on the potential and style of their own music. It wasn’t until the two met while playing a show together in 2017 where they’d quickly become friends. JWords and maassai would come to know each other’s respective styles in production and rhyme while developing on their own projects and later build on a mutual desire to bridge the gap between hip hop and electronic music. They’d start with one-off tracks like “My Name Jack?” which would appear on maassai’s debut EP ‘C0n$truct!0n’. This ad-lib process continued with the heavy-hitting “Toxic Behavior”. With schedules opening up during the pandemic, the extra time allowed the two to hone in on their evolving sound and record their first album.

‘ve·loc·i·ty’, released in 2020, showcased a speed and grit not heard before in underground music. Its singular amalgamation of hip hop and electronic music, further characterised by flecks of jazz, juke, Jersey club and boom bap, noted a direction in music unbound by the confines of genre. The album’s enigmatic sound paired with a collage of self-affirmations caught wind from the likes of Pitchfork, The Wire, Brooklyn Vegan, Okayplayer, Cabbages and Bandcamp, who called ‘ve·loc·i·ty’ “a marvel of momentum”.

Since then, maassai released her critically acclaimed debut solo album ‘With The Shifts’ while JWords would release a steady stream of material, including three volumes of her DancePack series and 2022’s ‘Self-Connection’. The two would collaborate outside of H31R, providing production and verses to Nappy Nina’s 2021 album ‘Double Down’ and 2023’s ‘Mourning Due’. What came out of creating ‘ve·loc·i·ty’ was an understanding that they wanted to make another album. With a synergy established, the creation process for ‘HeadSpace’ would be more in sync than before and H31R would create with more intention than before.

Dizzee Rascal's debut album "Boy In Da Corner," released on the prestigious XL Recordings label, won the UK Mercury Prize and became the first UK rap album ever to go platinum, and is being reissued as a 3-disc set to celebrate its 20th anniversary!

SP-1200 beats made using postal service. Fredfades and Sraw collaborate through post, exchanging dusty beats for an experimental Hip Hop record. The process of sending floppy discs back and forth, where each producer added element over element on their own SP-1200, has been on-going for almost 10 years, slowly building a collaborative body of work. The result is Double Density, an LP that oozes with the character of that infamous instrument which laid much of the foundation for the earliest Hip Hop artists and still manages to evoke those raw and visceral sounds of that era. Reinforcing those sounds are the voices of Planet Asia, Pink Siifu and Blue November, who deliver lyrics from US coasts to Scandanavia’s fjords. The duos collaborative effort swims in a sea of eclectic influences where Jazz, Soul and Hip-Hop thrive in the construct of this unique instrument. The drum machine pops, crackles and hisses on a bed of big bass lines through 13 tracks that go from short instrumentals to fully arranged songs. Taking Hip-Hop back to its origins, everything is stripped bare to its essentials and for every vocal track, there’s its antithesis in the form of an instrumental break. It’s a record that plays with the archetypes of Hip Hop and Rap as something that we’ve lost over the years that begs for revocation. Double Density sounds exotic in the world of today’s gleaming beats.

Fresh from supporting Blur at Wembley, Sleaford Mods return with a EP of six new tracks. Emerging from the same environment that created the duo's Top 3 album UK GRIM, the songs of More UK GRIM share the incisive lyrical vision and forward-thinking electronics that won acclaim for the LP. Tracks including Under The Rules, Old Nottz and Big Pharma not only continue Mods' era of dancefloor dominance, but with insight and wit, outrage and compassion, they critique yet celebrate our turbulent times.

Though best known for producing seminal albums for some of the world’s most exciting artists (Vince Staples, IDLES, Rico Nasty), on LOUIE Kenny subverts expectations with an almost entirely instrumental artist record that acts as a deeply personal tribute to the artist’s ailing father. Over 17 songs, LOUIE is a hypnotic odyssey of wounded, teardrop soul; a side of Kenny that has not been seen by the world before.

An astonishing debut album of ambient rap that stretches saturated 808 kicks over dissociated AutoTuned vocals and glyding, amniotic bass. Every track is rolled out in regular, fast, and slurred versions, slanted and enchanted to enhance a sense of sensual, blunted delirium that comes highly recommended if yr into Future, Young Thug, Lee Gamble’s new one, Lil B, Iceboy Violet, DJ Screw. It was only a matter of time before rap and ambient merged into a full syrup, something that’s been on the cards since Lil B appeared in 2010 on DIY label Weird Forest (home to Emeralds, Hair Police and Yellow Swans) with a truly eccentric braindump of stream-of-consciousness raps laced over totally anomalous ambient pads. Iceboy Violet took it further with 'Drown To Float' in 2020, granulating the edges of tracks from Lil Durk, Thugger and Gunna, and now Yungwebster propels the sound further into the blissed abyss, and in the process provides the Sferic label with its most essential release since Space Afrika’s ‘Somewhere Decent To Live’ album in 2018. Yungwebster’s debut sweeps up tracks recorded over the last couple of years, taking the signature crawl of Southern rap that guided cloud rap's first steps (look up Viper and thank us later), and dissolving it with Ambient froth, lean-hued ATL melancholy and YouTube/TikTok micro-clique self-expression. Yungwebster is here joined by Cali producers astarii, Tavo and 6rantt, Rxmer from the Netherlands, Alabama's Sasmochi, Chicago's Dielauryn, Smooks, Cominalone, Star, local rappers Agxny and Tnotsobad, and NY producers Kacie Free and Sonofadm, all of whom contribute to the album's waved atmosphere. Each track is deployed at diff speeds, often melting into a slowed-down redux, giving a nod to DJ Screw and acknowledging the Houston original's overwhelming influence on contemporary ambient-experimental styles. He speeds things up on 'Stay FOCUSSSS', paying attention to Florida's quicker pulse, heard in music from artists like Ski Mask the Slump God and Smokepurpp, before he fades into a regular-speed coda. Through each track, Webster works like a musicologist, presenting a wide-angled view of rap that's both nostalgic and forward facing. When he references Future's most inward material (think the soul-piercing 'Monster' finale 'Codeine Crazy'), he inevitably juxtaposes those feels with euphoric risers and psychedelic pads. On 'pull it to the side' he raps over asymmetrically Eno-esque waves and delicate, skeletal 808 Mafia-inspired rhythms. Even the commanding power of Imogen Heap (not only was she sampled on Lil B and Clams Casino's 'I'm God', but Lil B's The Pack bandmate Young L made an entire album from her voice in 2011 with 'As I Float') is referenced on the record's closer 'Coraline'. Circled by ethereal chorals, Yungwebster sings to the heavens, leaving trilling hi-hats to whirr into the clouds. Real mesmerising gear, a proper AOTY contender.

Sideshow, who has collaborated with The Alchemist, Earl Sweatshirt, MIKE, Boldy James, and NAPPYNAPPA, will release "2MM DON'T JUST STAND THERE!" from Mike's <10k>!
The themes of this work range from conflicts in daily life on tour with the DMV to issues of conflict among the people of Sideshow's hometown of Tigray.
A2. "JIH LIKE MORANT" with soulful sampling and entertaining phone jokes, A3. "LOCKED DOORS" with smoky rap and booming bass, Kanye West's labels GOOD Music and Def. Jam Recordings> A7. "2MM (feat. Valee)" featuring Valee as guest performer.