From one mutt to another - I feel you, Samon. So thoroughly.
“No point in trying to understand Samon Kawamura from his nationality: half Japanese, half German, born in Berlin but raised in Tokyo, he’s your classic rootless kid – the sort that’s defined more by where he’s at than where he’s from. And where he’s at is hip-hop – soporific, jazzy instrumental hip hop that’s initially reminiscent of the Mo Wax catalogue, particularly the blunted beats of his countryman DJ Krush, but with occasional flashes of vision that hints at musical horizons that lay somewhere beyond your typical smoker’s choice fare.”
-Louis Pattison, BBC Music Review
Many of you might have heard of Yuna by this point, but I was first introduced to her music about a year ago by no less than Rob Stone (Cornerstone/Fader), who let me in on how the Malaysian singer made her way onto his label in the first place and excitedly shared plans for her to collaborate with industry heavyweights.
I didn’t think it would happen this quickly.
Pharrell has cited Yuna as one of the sources of inspiration for his new album, and if the Neptunes produced track “Live Your Life” is any indicator, she seems to be reciprocating the sentiment.
Check out the video, and after it, a cover by the PS22 Chorus - who might just be the best musical group to come out of Staten Island since…the Wu-Tang Clan.
-s.
Hi everybody.
I am taking this short break from writing my mildly overdue newspaper column to write something else completely - an outpouring of sorts likely, that has no final destination. And like many things with no particular place to go, chances are it’ll amble its way to you and you will be kind enough to entertain it until you realize it has overstayed its welcome.
I write this with clumps of mascara in my almost bald set of eyelashes; which nobody warns you is a possible side-effect of being in the modeling industry, just like they forget to tell you early on that you are in the business of professional rejection. Jolly good thing I got a head start on that when I moved to Manila as a pre-teen. Shutting shit down without just cause. Closing the door before even trying.
And though this is an attitude that gracefully committed suicide as the years progressed, it makes you wonder, doesn’t it, what that Graveyard of Potential holds. Crumpled pieces of paper with the beginnings of a genius blueprint. The cure for Cancer, maybe. A new color. A vital proponent of peace.
And so I have felt about music, on many days. What of collaborations gone awry? Lyrics lost to the grapplings of frustration, beats abandoned because of a sample that was just too much effort to clear?
Ah, well. Here is a story about what was able to both breathe, and give breath.
—
I first met Miles’ voice when it punched me in the groin.
There I was, alone, thankfully. Buckled over, slow to straighten, lingering in the confusion of palpable unfamiliarity, but feeling indescribably…safe.
Unable to pinpoint a place or a time on his music, giddy with the newness of this thing I had no name for. Something I could not, would not, attempt to thumb through folders to file. Something I wanted to run to Momma with, to slap my ex-boyfriend in the face with, to wrap up like I did my newborn and hold like nothing else mattered.
Miles Bonny, I soon realized, made sense between anything my iTunes shuffle could have possibly tried to sandwich him in - from Gangstarr to Jackson Browne, Sade to Jai Paul.
It was ‘Lumberjack Soul’ that made it’s way to my phone as a ring tone, in an effort to balance the frivolity and transience of an electronic ringer with as much mead as possible; timeless, honey-laced, balance-altering, thirst-quenching, truth serum.
But it was ‘J.Birly’ that had me horizontal.
—
A voice that lays me out, meets beats that —
…frankly, make me want to do things I am not at liberty to describe to you in detail here.
Jesus, B. Lewis
Deftly able to take listeners on journeys that make you try to remember whether or not he was actually there. The one that got away.The one you haven’t found yet.
Lacing cosmically deranged beauty with a gutter-morphed Pharcyde lyric on one beat, to wordlessly describing a crisp sock-footed spring morning in pristine sheets on the next; B.Lewis is the dude that waits for you to appreciate your perfect sunny side up before scrambling the f*ck out of it.
(Then he drops a calling card on your breakfast table that says, “Yin and Yang: Matchmaker”, and nonchalantly walks away with a piece of your toast in his mouth.)
—
From the gate of the Graveyard of Potential, with love.
With the fleeting acknowledgment the internet bestows new music, and the improbability of predicting the impact of this collaboration, the 7-tracks on Egg Black might have been lost to you. But even as an individual that is violently territorial about music that moves me, I am quick to recognize that not sharing this would be detrimental to everything I stand for.
So consider this the first time I let you in. Let you stay.
The first time I offered to make you breakfast, in nothing but everything I was born with, because that is what this deserves.
Together, Miles Bonny and B.Lewis have me laid out and scrambled.
Partake. Sustenance. Egg Black.
milesbonnyxblewis.bandcamp.com
-s.
An appetizer.
—
Did you know he’s a visual artist too?
Bookmark him please. Sarah says.
-s.
Miguel - Adorn
Love the vibe. Hard to find good R&B these days.
MR DJ - Alexander THE feat. Belle
From the homie Alex Jr. out in Canada - his way of spreading Original Pilipino Music throughout the world (check out the end of the video)…and my way of convincing you that Ate Shawie is Hip Hop.
-s.
Awhile back I told you about Lana Del Rey, then I shared the Jamie Woon refix of “Video Games” that I liked. Here’s another layer to add to experiencing that same song.
Melo-X, who also deserves a follow (he’s on Tumblr too!), hits the studio and lets you in on an intimate dolo MPC wild out session.
Good music is good music.
-s.
U & Me & Everyone We Know by Jeangreasy
“I still adore you // you adore me theoretically.”
Smiling. What I love most about being part of this little lady’s journey is witnessing the process of progress. Especially the 3:47am e-mails of edits she wrote, vocalized, and mixed herself.
2012 is going to be so soulworthy for you, my BG. Stand up straight, arch your back, and unfold those wings!
𝄞
Because we haven’t shown any kind of preview of the stuff we’ve been working on for a while! Expect a track of “Lost” by RBTO and Gap from People’s Future featuring June Marieezy soon!
Undun -The Roots | My Vote for Best Album of 2011.
And it came out, what, 48 hours ago?
Adding a click through link so you can get your first dose of the entire compilation.
-s.
Focused on doing our thing so that she can focus on doing hers.
-s.
I <3 June Marieezy
“Need You Now (Architecture in Helsinki version)” by Cut Copy
Hand touches your body now
Lips touch as you’re falling down
Run for the last train
One of them will get you home
Sharon Cuneta x Alexander The x Belle.
Mr. DJ | Pacific Blues
Ta-dah! Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Rigamortis’ video.
If you didn’t already know: a) he is the truth, and b) that’s no lie.
Shouts to “Babe and them” (LOL/inside joke) for the dope film work and direction! [High five to my girl Tonya. Brrrap.]
-s.
Blue Diamonds - Sukiyaki 1963
Okay, so let me tell you what you’re watching here.
That’s two Indonesian guys, from the Netherlands, singing a Japanese song…in German.
I wish I were around in 1963. These dudes were on one.
-s.
