We’re truly blessed because the brand new East of L.A. office & studio is located in the Pomona Arts Colony and it has some incredible residents. One of them is this man, DJ EROK. Not a day goes by where this homie isn’t loading and unloading deejay equipment from his car, always on the run. Concurrently holding down the Inland Empire with it’s longest running and most successful nightclub promotion (More Fire Monday’s) and producing arguably one of it’s most successful and widely noted apparel lines: Ek5obition.
I downloaded this 46 minute live mix earlier this morning, and I think I might have listened to it without skip four times over already. Few lyrics, just head nodding mind sex with sprinkles of genius from the producers forging forward throughout Southern California and now emerging onto national & international platforms. This is one for the grown and sexy, a highly recommended download.
THE NOD FACTOR VOL.1 (Thought Provoker Recordings 2010)
1. Jazz Is The Fundamental - Paranorml
2. Jazz - A Tribe Called Quest
3. Scrape Your Back - Mr. Complex
4. Grown Man Sport - I.N.I.
5. Find Yourself - Space Hopper
6. Who Am I - Sound Providers
7. Message Situation - Flying Lotus
8. Return - Samiyam
9. “12’s In 8″ - Karriem Riggins
10. Bouncers - Oh No
11. Fort Teen - Dorian Concept
12. Exact Fingerpointing - Dimlite
13. Tetris - Wajeed14. Beatles Bitch - Mono/Poly
15. Agent White - Illum Sphere
16. Sky Blue - Mike Tibbert
17. Wong - Kenlo Cranqnuques
18. Mysterious Vibes - AFTA-1
19. Piano - Dabrye20. Broken Vibes - Taylor Mcferrin
21. Tuba Zeriai - Gagle
22. Abstract Blue - Break Reform
Mixed By: Dj Erok (Critical Beatdown/Ek5obition Concept Co.)
Our good friend Tina has recently organized an event set to promote the Brisk Emerging Artist Contest (a competition in which 3 selected artists from 30 competing schools receive $10,000 scholarships) going down this Thursday at Back To The Grind in Riverside, California. Our associates and creative partners are preparing great sets: AFTA-1 and emcee SPEAK!, as well as our friend DMN SLYR. Other performances include dirtRAID and the Riverside Drum Circle. More fun activities will be offered at the event such as a tentu.org-sponsored crafting center and a photobooth provided by MAMIKO.NU.
The event is completely FREE and will go down from 7:30-11:00pm. If you’re in the area, this is definitely not one to miss.
I’d be hard-pressed to pinpoint exactly when and how I learned of this all-female garage quartet from the fertile music breeding ground of the California Bay area, but I can safely say that I am glad I did as they’ve quickly become a favorite of mine. The four UC Berkeley alums collectively known as The Splinters offer a unique blend of lo-fi rock and pop reminiscent of predecessors like The Shangri-Las all the while revealing a penchant for 90’s riot grrrl punk. The band has recently released their first full-length record, Kick, via Double Negative Records last month and performed a few showcases at SXSW. Do yourself a favor and pick up their solid album today.
Watch the music video for “Mysterious” (Directed by Natalie Tsui) here:
Performing “Electricity” live at a house party in Oakland in March:
Download “Mysterious” here (Courtesy of The Fader):
Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam a.k.a. M.I.A. is no stranger to controversy. Much of the eccentric U.K.-based recording artist’s works have incorporated very strong socio-political messages accompanied perfectly by uniquely dance-able, highly infectious tunes. More recently, outside of the musical aspect of her illustrious career, Arulpragasam has made broad statements regarding pop musician Lady Gaga in an interview with British publication, NME, touting her as a ‘mimic’ and going on to allege: “People say we’re similar, that we both mix all these things in the pot and spit them out differently,” she said, “but she spits it out exactly the same. None of her music’s reflective of how weird she wants to be or thinks she is.” (NME Interview).
Now, following an airborne advertising campaign in promotion of the June 29th U.S. release of her upcoming third full-length album (in the form of a blimp during rapper Jay-Z’s set at the recent 2010 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival), M.I.A. has released a controversial new music video for a recently distributed track entitled “Born Free”. The video, which was directed by French director Romain Gavras (whose portfolio includes Justice’s “Stress” and Simian Mobile Disco’s “I Believe”), is one chock-full of violence, nudity, and lots of explosions and gore. The song is pretty dope, too.
Check out the NSFW music video for “Born Free” here:
What do you think of the new music video and song? We’d love to hear your opinion in our comments section below.
The Czech Republic’s 19 year old beatmaker Inphy seems to have a good ear for samples and has made a pretty solid remix album. The Remixtape is golden era Hip Hop updated for today’s “backpackers“. Fortunately for music lovers Inphy didn’t remix the standard Notorious B.I.G. or 2 Pac tune but instead included alot lesser known quality songs I’m sure you”ll enjoy.
Intro
Big Tone ft. Blu - A Song Called Triumph
Dj Roddy Rod ft. Kev Brown & Cy Young - Take Notice
Jay-Z - PSA
Little Brother ft. Carlitta Durand- Life of the Party
Muneshine ft. Sean Price & Termanology - What Now
Kev Brown ft. Kenn Starr & Quartermaine - Say Sumthin..
Edo G - Revolution
Rapper Big Pooh - Strongest Man
Jay-Z - 99 Problems
Smif-n-Wessun ft. Talib Kweli - We Came Up
Doujah Raze ft. Sean Price & AG - Fahrenheit
The Returners ft. Rasco, Mic Stylz & Breez Evahflowin - Different Places, One Hip Hop
Little Brother ft. Big Daddy Kane - Welcome to Durham
bonus: Oliver Lowe & Ond?ej Žatkuliak ft. Puškyn - Lidi jsou zvláštní
The five member Portuguese band Orelha Negra (Black Ear) mix latin infused funk with sample based Hip Hop and turntablism into winning combination that can not be denied. Orelha Negra’s funky rhythms and perfectly selected samples definitely bring a much needed freshness to today’s musical world. No autotune or overused 909/606 drums for these Portuguese soulful funksters. They lay it down right and tight ala Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings and UK’s Alice Russell.
Unfortunately the album is not for sale via U.S. iTunes but can be purchased through iTunes Portugal. However you can purchase their singles, “Lord” (album track) and “Blessed” (not on the album) through iTunes US. As a bonus for EOLA readers here’s the new single “A Cura” which is unavailable for purchase in the U.S.
California’s own The Morning Benders are steady on the rise in the indie rock circuit. The success of their second full-length, Big Echo, (which was produced by Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor and released last month) has allowed them to support big-name acts such as Yeasayer and MGMT in the short-span of their existence. A new video for the single, “Promises” has been released and is really nothing short of greatness.
The Temper Trap’s abrupt widespread success is no breaking news. The Australian indie/alternative rock group’s 2009 debut record Conditions was an instant hit as listeners the world over were quickly wooed by the band’s captivating blend of U2-esque guitars and the perfect pinch of pop sprinkled throughout. I mean, even renowned producer DJ Shadow gave the band his stamp of approval with his signature mix of their upbeat anthem “Science of Fear” and, needless to say, being featured on the soundtrack of the flick, (500) Days of Summer didn’t hurt at all either. The band continues to sell out shows worldwide and recently performed at Coachella.
Check out the band’s latest music video for the opening song “Love Lost” (directed by Dougal Wilson):
Michael Uzowuru, also referred to as “The Afro Buttefly” is a dope kid and beat maker representing Southern California. His Instrumental Mixtape “The Mellowest Trip” is a mellow, fixating ensemble of jazzy samples, crisp drums and voice over samples from a mixture of films and historical icons. Easy to listen to the mixtape draws you into it’s simplicity to then take you into another world of deep conflict, truth and conviction. This kid is definitely someone to look out for.
Download or Listen to the “The Mellowest Trip”: Here
From the cat that’s been killing the mixtape game with heavy-hitters like Flight School, Star Power and Burn After Rolling comes the highly anticipated new Kush and Orange Juice. It isn’t a surprise that the Pittsburgh-based Wiz Khalifa goes hard on his new tape, especially since his last solid offering and second full-length, Deal or No Deal.
DJ EROK | Ek5obition | The Nod Factor Vol.1
