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
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Where to begin with the funky enigma that is Darondo? You probably clicked the "more info" button for one of two reasons: either you know Darondo's "Didn't I" as the lead-off slow-burner from Gilles Peterson's recent Gilles Peterson Digs America comp, or...
expand review you saw the dude on the cover -- the one who looks like a pensive, iced-out Screamin' Jay Hawkins -- and just had to know who it was. No matter what the reason, you've just lucked out, for Darondo has got to be one of the most unexpected and pleasant musical surprises of the past few years. An underground legend in the Bay Area, Darondo was recently tracked down by Ubiquity Records. Not only did he give them permission to reissue some of his classic recordings, but he also went into the studio and recorded additional vocals for some of his unfinished works. Darondo's got range, too: you get a little bit of everything from his broad pallette, from hard funk to smooth soul joints. 9 cuts in all, in a pic sleeve which features the man himself on the front and details the entire saga of Darondo on the back. -the mgmnt
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To begin, Sa-Ra didn't get dropped from Kanye's GOOD imprint. GOOD lost their Sony deal, so Sa-Ra was free to leave and release this album on Babygrande. Rumors had been swirling that Sa-Ra's album was shelved because it was too weird for...
expand review a major label release; and the rumors are partially right. You will definitely not see Sa-Ra on TRL anytime soon, which to Lab heads, is a positive sign. Moreover, to finally hear the full album is pretty rewarding for all those Sa-Ra fans out there. There has been no softening of the trademark Hollywood meets P-Funk sound, they bring it as raw and demo-y as when I first saw them at our WMC party two years ago. At 19 tracks deep, this is a substantial amount of material. It includes singles: "Glorious(1), Rosebuds(2), Feel The Bass(3)" featuring Talib, and "Not On Our Level(4)" featuring CNN. But let me tell you that the album tracks are really where it's at. Check the ideal guest combos on "Sweet Sour You(5)" featuring Bilal, "Fly Away(6)" featuring Erykah Badu and George Anne Muldrow, "Fish Fillet(7)" featuring Pharoahe Monch, "Tracy(8)" featuring new female emcee Rozzi Daime, "Thrilla(9)" featuring Dilla, and the Redux(10) of the promo single "Hollywood." It will take you a while to really digest this one. -the mgmnt
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Trying to paraphrase the in-depth biography of Sarolta Zalatnay that Andy Votel wrote for this first-ever compilation of her work would be both time-consuming and pointless, so I'll just say this: whether you're an old Hungarian head, a new fan or you've...
expand review never heard of Zalatnay in your life, you NEED to read this story and hear this music. This is the official extension of last year's "Desperately Seeking Zalatnay Sarolta" mixtape from Alec Deruggiero, who co-curates this collection with B-Music point man Votel. The sound here ranges from folk to garage rock to funk, with Zalatnay backed by a number of different bands, all with a hint of dark psychedelia. (They got mad enchanted forests in Hungary!) Check out these unpronounceable songs: "Egy Szot Se Szolj(1)," "Munanyag Almok(2)," "Hadd Mondjam El(3)" (check the opening break), "Sracok Oh Sracok(4)" and "Keso Esti Oran(5)." There's even a couple bonus tracks in English! A couple facts from the booklet: Zalatnay once turned down a marriage proposal from Maurice Gibb and "is the legal guardian of the daughter of her unfaithful porn director husband and his illicit mistress...the same porn director who persuaded the 54-year old Zalatnay to have a boob-job and pose naked for Hungarian Playboy." You'll have to buy it for the rest. 19 tracks; 63 minutes. -Chris Lemon-Red
"SHEEEEEE'S YOUUUUUUR QUEEEEEN TO BEEEEE!" Any mix with a Coming To America theme is pretty much guaranteed to get the Lab seal of approval, but Scott Melker goes in especially hard on this one. Melker (a Rub associate and tourmate of G.Love...
expand review & Special Sauce) mixes through a whole slew of 80s tracks here, some cheeseball (yet entertaining) and some surprisingly ripe for revisiting. Sandwiched between the Sexual Chocolate intro and the "She's your queen to be…" outro are acts like: Mark Morrison, Hall & Oates, Toto, Terence Trent D'Arby, Pebbles, Bell Biv Devoe, INXS and even a whole section dedicated to the kings of 80s open-shirt R&B, Bobby Brown & New Edition. (It's appropriately titled "Zamunda.") 74 minutes total. -Chris Lemon-Red
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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