Restocked on this early Ayres favorite. Space N Faders is a trip into the 80s section of Ayres party crate circa 2002 or something. Classic selection with DJ favorites mixed with the pop stuff, it's achieves the pleasing middleground for both partying...
expand review and DJ nerdery. Stuff from Rebbie Jackson, Prince, Rockwell, Kano, Raze, Bambaata, Depeche Mode, Shannon, New Order, Talking Heads, New Edition, Nu Shooz, Soft Cell, and others. DJs who need an 80s set, this is a good one to bite. -the mgmnt
Rub DJs Ayres and Eleven are back with their second volume of the educated 80s mix. This is not your usual power hits John Hughes mix, as they dig deep for those crucial 12"s that defined the other, more soulful side of...
expand review the era (B-L-S, with your hand up her dress). Stuff like Cameo, Kleer, Timex Social Club, Jocelyn Brown, Odyssey, Prince, The Jets, New Edition, Ready For the World, Kid Creole, Teena Marie, and much more. Tightly arranged with clean Rub remixes, and some neato tricks bringing it all together. -the mgmnt
When Cosmo put a preview of this mix online in early 2005, it crashed the Rub's website in a matter of hours. Like most people, I slept, and never got a chance to hear it until he mercifully pressed up CD copies...
expand review a few months later. Now it's come to the Lab, and the world can finally feel the love. Clocking in at almost 70 minutes and comprised entirely of soulful 60s & 70s babymakin' music, Love Break is maybe Cosmo's best mix to date, and anyone who's followed this man's career knows that that's really saying something. The mix is full of joints that most of you probably haven't heard before, without being willfully obscure or inaccessible; it's just gorgeous music from front to back. But Cosmo doesn't shy away from better-known samples either: check William Bell & Mavis Staples on "Strung Out" (the basis for Cam's "Down & Out" or Z.Z. Hill's "That Ain't the Way You Make Love" (sampled by Madlib on Madvillain's "Fancy Clown"). If I had to pick highlights here, I'd go with the Meters' incredible cover of Glen Campbell's "Wichita Lineman", the Dramatics' "In the Rain" and Nina Simone's absolutely fucking heartbreaking rendition of "Baltimore". Easily my pick for the best mixtape of 2005. Highly recommended. -Chris Lemon-Red
LAB EXCLUSIVO. Australia stand up! The 2005 follow-up to Bone Us Beats from DJ Ransom (Australian DJ pioneer) and DJ Perks (of Perks sand Mini design fame). DJ Roland Korg says you'll hear "more electro, Goblin, Cosmic Kid, strangeness and scary disk!"...
expand review This one is even more involved and developed than the first with a cool spooky vibe and crazy selections. It sounds like something Snack and Commish would concoct. 30 tracks, one hour and twenty minutes. -the mgmnt
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The hype machine has been working in overdrive for this album recently. In the six years since Endtroducing, his only proper solo album, he's been releasing countless projects to keep himself busy. They've been satisfying, but always left me with the question:...
expand review did Shadow blow his load on Endtroducing?
The Private Press answers this question by ignoring it completely. The tracks take you all over the place, using new styles and old styles, and it's busy, busy, busy. There's a different production sound that's sharper, more distinct. It feels like Shadow got more inside these songs, unlike the more layered Endtroducing, where you could pick and separate the samples from each other as they progressed slowly. Take "Fixed Income(1)," whose build-up, switches and lulls betray a clearer understanding of what makes a piece successful. "Giving up the Ghost(2)" also shows an evolution of that instrumental style so prevalent on Endtroducing. Perhaps the appeal is that Shadow's strength has always been through the headphones: the way in which his music can comment on what you're doing as you listen to it, making things become cinematic with a personalized, intimate sound. You can be listening to Shadow while tying your shoelaces, and it becomes Tyson vs Lewis (ed. Note: don't ever mention that fight again).
There's some new stuff going on here as well. Some 80s Kraftwerk dance type stuff that pretty New Yorkers are so enthralled with at the moment. A track like "Right Thing(3)" feels like a good ol time with cut and paste, while "Monosyllabik(4)" takes you on what hippies like to call a "sonic journey." Best of all, they make me not like them the first time I hear them. This album also sees the addition of vocals and in the same way that I feel like vocalists weakened the Psyence Fiction album, I'm not crazy about them here either. I was wincing the first time I heard the singing on "Blood on the Motorway," and the track with Lateef works, but feels out of place. However, it does connect on "Six Days(5)," one of the stronger cuts on the LP.
It's taken awhile for me to wrap my head around this album, and I may never fully digest it. But there's a lot going on from beginning to end, and it's satisfying in the same way that never fully knowing something can be satisfying. A worthwhile investigation for anyone. -The Woodman
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The debut album from everyone's new favorite skateboardin', streetwear sportin', vinyl toy collectin' MC nerdus is upon us. As much as I'd love to hate on this dude, I gotta say… this one's pretty hot. Great beats from producers both known and...
expand review unknown, solid lyrics without too much preaching, even a pretty hilarious series of pics in the booklet with dopeboys slingin' textbooks instead of drojas. Anyway, the singles off here are already certified Lab hits: the lead skate track "Kick Push(1)" and its B-side "Just Might Be Okay(2)," as well as the other Neptunes-produced joint here, "I Gotcha(3)." Kanye helps his fellow Chi-towner out with the beat for "The Cool(4)," flipping a hot sample from Dexter Wansel's "Life On Mars." Even old reliable Hova steps in for a guest spot on "Pressure(5)" – "my first picture was a lineup, now I'm on the Forbes" – and Lupe's in-house producer from his 1st & 15th crew samples Thelma Houston for the beat while the shit just comes together. A surprisingly solid and impressive debut outing from Lupe. 16 tracks; 72 minutes. -Chris Lemon-Red
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I don't care what kind of music you listen to, production-wise, this is one of the most impressive works of our time. The direction of the arrangements, beats, lyrics and voice, is on the lunar eclipse tip, locking everything in place for...
expand review that special split moment. Beth's lyrics are soul on ice one moment, bugging you the fuck out, wishing you were dead the next. The sound so rich, the beats reborn, the scratches so on point. The overall effect is much larger than the production. Freshman year at NYU, my whole dorm was hooked on it. Many sleepless comedown nights, bugging out, seeing the light in "It's A Fire," or the dead end in "Roads." Everyone huddled in a room, jaws buggin. My palms get sweaty just listening to this shit. This some powerful shit (or that was some powerful shit). -the mgmnt
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Finally, the full set of acoustic David Bowie covers as done by Seu Jorge in The Life Aquatic. You could previously get a handful of these songs on the soundtrack CD or on the second disc of the DVD set, but you...
expand review get a full 14 tracks here- and there's just something more powerful about having them all in one place. Beyond the schtick of hearing some of Bowie's biggest hits done acoustic and in Portuguese, Jorge is entirely compelling on his own and anyone who's heard these tracks is attracted like a moth to a light bulb. Check "Rebel Rebel(1) Ziggy Stardust(2), Suffragette City(3)," and "Changes(4)" and see where you're at with that add to cart button. Required material for winter -the mgmnt
The first installation of So Much Soul landed somewhere in the top ten of best selling mixes at the Lab. The combination of sharp mixes, soulful selection, and the nods to L-Boogie and other non-traditional mixtape selections made it one of our...
expand review recommendations for as long as we could keep it in stock. For volume 2 Vinroc goes solo without partner Shortkut, but starts off in a similar fashion, working simple blends and doubles into another Lauryn Hill selection; and then traveling across a wide definition of soul blending, soul oldies, hip-hop, and nu-soul from the likes of the Isleys, Slum Village, Sade, Tribe, Maxwell, Stevie, Mos, Barry White, Pete Rock and more. And like the first, it flows at a comfortable steppers pace. The beat blends and transitions are as smooth as Protools, but with a definite dj touch, giving it that all important "feel" that many mixes these days lack. 30 tracks in all, pretty strong. -the mgmnt
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