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
quick audio picks: 12345
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
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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