SOME STUFFS: Living Colour go on tour in support of new album

Living Colour are going on the road in support of their new album, The Chair In The Doorway, and one of the dates will be an opening slot for The Roots. The rest are headliner shows. Here are the confirmed dates:
August 10 | The Highline Ballroom | New York, NY (w/ The Roots)
September 1 | The Birchmere | Alexandria, VA
September 2 | Bottle & Cork | Dewey Beach, DE
September 3 | World Cafe Live | Philadelphia, PA
September 4 | The Crazy Donkey | Farmingdale, NY
September 6 | Infinity Hall | Norfolk, CT
September 8 | Tupelo Music Hall | Londonderry, NH
September 9 | FTC @ Stage One | Farfield, CT
September 10 | Johnny D’s | Somerville, MA
September 11 | Mexicali Live | Teaneck, NJ
September 12 | Rams Head Tavern | Annapolis, MD
September 14 | The Loft | Atlanta, GA
September 15 | HOB Orlando | Lake Buena Vista, FL
September 16 | Jannus Landing | St. Petersburg, FL
September 18 | Emo’s | Austin, TX
September 19 | Granada Theatre | Dallas, TX
September 20 | Warehouse Live | Houston, TX
September 23 | Canes Bar and Grill | San Diego, CA
September 24 | The Key Club | West Hollywood, CA
September 25 | Regency Grand Ballroom | San Francicso, CA
September 26 | Berbatis Pan | Portland, OR
September 27 | Studio Seven | Seattle, WA
September 30 | Fine Line Music Cafe | Minneapolis, MN
October 2 | The Magic Bag | Detroit, MI
October 3 | Lee’s Palace | Toronto, Ontario
October 4 | Double Door | Chicago, IL
October 5 | The Grog Shop | Cleveland, OH
October 30 | Highline Ballroom | New York, NY

Put them in your schedule.

SOME STUFFS: Are they Themselves? Themselves say yes, in reference to “CrownsDown”

Doseone and Jel have returned as, appropriately, Themselves, and a new album is on its way in the form of CrownsDown. It will be released on my birthday, and here is the official track listing:

1. Back II Burn
2. Oversleeping
3. The Mark
4. Gangster Of Disbelief
5. Daxstrong
6. You Ain’t It
7. Roman Is As Roman Does
8. Skinning The Drum
9. Deadcatclear II
10. Gold Teeth Will Roll

What will make of the album? Fans of Doseone, Jel, and the Anticon movement will buy this blindly, but some of the things referenced in their press release include such things as “X-Clan”, “electro bounce”, “Nas”, “Kool Keith”, “Auto-Tune”, and “sweat-and-blood-made crowns”. What does this all mean? You’ll find out, but if you can’t wait around for it just yet, they did create a pre-release album that fans can download for free. You can find out about it here.

MP3 OF INTEREST: Amerie releases “mix tape” before new album

Amerie has a new album coming out on September 29th, but until then, DJ Ruckus has put together an official mix of Amerie tracks both old and new to keep people in-the-know of Amerie’s return to the scene. The new mix is called What Cha Know About Amerie?, and here is the track listing:

1. Talkin’ About
2. Come With Me
3. All I Need
4. Talkin To Me
5. Need You Tonight
6. Got To Be There
7. Like It Used To Be
8. Rolling Down My Face
9. Can’t Let Go
10. Why Don’t We Fall In Love
11. Why R U
12. 1 Thing
13. Disrespectful To Build
14. Touch
15. Touch ’Em Right

You can download the mix by clicking this link.

MP3 OF INTEREST: Crown City Rockers’ “Soul”

Their forthcoming album is complete and will be called The Day After Forever. They are Crown City Rockers, an incredible group to hear and see live onstage, and this is a hint of what’s to coming on their long-awaited new album. It’s called “Soul”, take a listen:

http://www.divshare.com/flash/playlist?myId=8020897-2a9

(Official leak courtesy of Kat O1O herself, mahalo nui.)

REVIEW: Gabriel Espinoza’s “From Yucatan To Rio”

Bassists are the core of many bands, or at least the anchor. At least that’s what a bassist will tell you, and Gabriel Espinoza is someone who will tell you this not only face to face, but amp to face. From Yucatan To Rio (Zoho) tells the story of the music perfectly: the music sourced from his Mexican roots looking towards the world and reaching Brazil.

The songs that stand out the most are the ones with vocals, each of which are drenched in the old styles of Brazil that made a lot of those Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66 albums so great. No Lani Hall this time around, but we have Darmon Meader, Kim Nazarian and Alison Wedding who bring to the speakers the beautiful sound of tropicalia. It’s Latin jazz at its very best, listen to Espinoza’s rendition of Antonio Carlos Jobim‘s “Agua De Beber” and tell me you’re not thinking of cool summer nights and Brazilian waxes. The rest of the album is borderline smooth jazz, but not completely so as the saxophone work of George Robert and trumpet playing of Claudio Roditi are impressive enough to be enjoyed by jazz enthusiasts.

This is how I see this album. The Brazilian-flavored songs are for the CD buyer, while the jazzier songs are for radio airplay,and if people are moved to buy this after hearing it on the radio, they will be immensely surprised.

REVIEW: Naledge’s “Chicago Picasso”

An album before the album: it’s a trend in hip-hop known as the “mix tape” or “mix CD” where a collection of random songs are combined to create momentum for the big project, and in a way to test the waters in the hopes it will create a buzz. Naledge has not had a problem with any kind of buzz as one half of Kidz In The Hall. But this is different, this is an attempt at establishing himself under his own name, as a solo artist. The release of the mix CD Chicago Picasso (Major League/Duck Down) shows that he’s ready for the big leagues.

Chicago Picasso is a 20 track album that is done at a fast pace in that songs come and go, being thrown at the listener for the sake of attacking. On the album he says he calls himself a Picasso because like the celebrated artist, Naledge is about not delivering the same thing with each new song. The album has the dope hip-hop, and even features a few modern styles that some of his fans may be hesitant to believe he’s doing, but he’s doing it, and quite well. I think he’s better off with the real cuts, but if something new takes him to a new avenue, who am I to say “this is not good for him”?

Tracks like “Southside Shit”, “Futuristic Shit”, and “Standing On Sofas” bring to mind the celebration of words and wordplay, and when was the last time you could say that about any song, an album, by any rapper? I’m curious to know what this guy is molding for his proper album, because if one is to judge by this, he could easily come up with an album to set the trends for the next ten years.

SOME STUFFS: Gary Numan to release 30th anniversary edition of “The Pleasure Principle”

Prepare to feel old. It has been 30 years since the release of Gary Numan‘s The Pleasure Principle album, where he introduces his vision of pyramid power, intense electronic-based new wave, and one of the best songs of the 20th century, “Cars”. In honor of the album’s 30th anniversary, Numan has put together a special 30th anniversary edition of the album, to be sold in two ways.

A 2CD version will be sold in stores featuring a remastered version of the original album on disc 1, and a second disc featuring early demos for each of the songs plus a few non-LP B-sides. Diehard fans will want to pick up a special 3CD version, with the third disc featuring two live EP’s meant for release in 1979 and 1980 but were scrapped, and the original LP mixes for the live album, Living Ornaments album. The 3CD will be available only through Numan’s online store, Nuworld.

SOME STUFFS: Creating music can be second nature in nature with Music Go Music

Music Go Music is a peculiar name, but then again maybe not. They’ve gained a small buzz with their brand of music that they feel is “visual and funks”. Simple enough,right?

The group have been signed to Secretly Canadian, who will release their debut album on the 6th of October called Expressions. So what is “their brand of music”? Their press release suggests diversity:

What kind of pop music is it? Rock and Roll, Disco, Metal, Boogie, Trans-Hand, Psychedelic? How does it work?

Who knows how it’ll work? The fan, of course, and the album that will make people become instant believers (or at least that’s the hope). The group will be doing a few shows in L.A. and San Francisco with Little Boots in September, and two shows in London soonafter so one can take the opportunity to feel their visuals and funks. It seems they want to take the power of the late 1970’s, exploit it, moisten it, and make it tingle. That is the best they could do, but they want to make it bester. I think they have a chance in succeeding.

FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD: “Warm In The Shadows” (13.3mb)

SOME STUFFS: Another from the brother, Ali that is

Intimidating, maybe for some, but for those who love his work he is one of the best in hip-hop today. You don’t need to claim you’re the new king of pop to make a statement, Brother Ali is the king of what HE does and that is most important. He has been hard at work on a new project and he’s ready to unleash Us through Rhymesayers on September 22nd. For this one he has help from Chuck D., Joell Ortiz, Freeway, and Stokley Williams of Mint Condition. Like previous albums, Us is said to tap deeper into the human condition, so no “on-the-surface” malarky from him.

Brother Ali will hit the road on the release date with Evidence (Dilated Peoples), BK One, and Toki Wright, tickets will go on sale this coming Saturday (August 1st). Here are the confirmed dates:

SEPT 22 DULUTH, MN PIZZA LUCE
SEPT 23 MANKATO, MN WHAT’S UP LOUNGE
SEPT 24 IOWA CITY, IA THE INDUSTRY
SEPT 25 SIOUX FALLS, SD NUTTY’S NORTH
SEPT 26 OMAHA, NE THE WAITING ROOM
SEPT 27 LAWRENCE, KS GRANADA
SEPT 29 DENVER, CO OGDEN THEATER
SEPT 30 BOULDER, CO FOX THEATRE
OCT 1 COLORADO SPRINGS, CO THE BLACK SHEEP
OCT 2 SALT LAKE CITY, UT IN THE VENUE
OCT 3 BOISE, ID THE VENUE
OCT 4 MISSOULA, MT THE BADLANDER
OCT 6 SPOKANE, WA THE BOULEVARD
OCT 7 SEATTLE, WA NEUMO’S
OCT 8 VICTORIA, BC ELEMENT
OCT 9 VANCOUVER, BC VENUE
OCT 10 BELLINGHAM, WA THE NIGHTLIGHT
OCT 11 PORTLAND, OR HAWTHORNE THEATER
OCT 12 EUGENE, OR WOW HALL
OCT 14 ARCATA, CA HUMBOLDT STATE UNIV
OCT 15 RENO, NV THE NEW OASIS
OCT 16 SANTA CRUZ, CA THE CATALYST
OCT 17 SAN FRANCISCO, CA SLIM’S
OCT 18 SANTA CLARA, CA AVALON NIGHTCLUB
OCT 20 LOS ANGELES, CA EL REY THEATRE
OCT 21 SAN DIEGO, CA CANE’S
OCT 22 TEMPE, AZ CLUB RED
OCT 23 TUCSON, AZ CLUB CONGRESS
OCT 24 ALBUQUERQUE, NM SUNSHINE THEATER
OCT 26 LUBBOCK, TX THE FOUNDATION
OCT 27 DALLAS, TX GRANADA THEATER
OCT 28 AUSTIN, TX EMO’S
OCT 29 HOUSTON, TX WAREHOUSE LIVE
NOV 1 ORLANDO, FL THE SOCIAL
NOV 4 CARRBORO, NC CAT’S CRADLE
NOV 5 BALTIMORE, MD THE OTTOBAR
NOV 6 PHILADELPHIA, PA 1st UNITARIAN CHURCH
NOV 7 NEW YORK, NY IRVING PLAZA
NOV 8 BOSTON, MA THE PARADISE
NOV 9 BURLINGTON, VT HIGHER GROUND
NOV 10 PORTLAND, ME THE ASYLUM
NOV 11 NORTHAMPTON, MA PEARL STREET
NOV 13 CLEVELAND, OH GROG SHOP
NOV 14 COLUMBUS, OH SKULLY’S MUSIC DINER
NOV 15 LOUISVILLE, KY UNCLE PLEASANT’S
NOV 17 ANN ARBOR, MI BLIND PIG
NOV 18 CHICAGO, IL METRO
NOV 19 MADISON, WI BARRYMORE THEATER
NOV 20 MINNEAPOLIS, MN FIRST AVENUE

SOME STUFFS: Man from Memphix meets the label of Memphis

A few of you may know him as Luke Sexton, or perhaps his work as DJ Redeye Jedi. Either way, if you collect records and love funk, soul, hip-hop, and/or sample-based material, then you have no doubt heard of his label, Memphix Records. Sexton recently did a DJ set at the opening of the brand new Stax Records Museum in Memphis, Tennessee, and he recently released Stacks From Stax, Re:Stax’d, which explores the vast Stax catalog. You can listen to a portion of it by clicking here.

Link courtesy of third_i_vision @ OKP.