High-Tech Soul

Wanna get educated about Detroit Techno?

High Tech Soul - The Creation of Techno Music from radiomix 2.0 on Vimeo.

Oliver Ho's Brain Picked by Resident Advisor

Props to Resident Advisor for conducting a brand new exclusive interview with one of my favorite UK techno producers of all time - Oliver Ho.

Check out the transcript here:

http://www.residentadvisor.net/feature.aspx?1237

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

So Kanye West is due to drop his album called "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" in the coming weeks, but already there has been leaks on the internet. I had to spend a full day looking for it but after finding it and listening to it, I am EXTREMELY impressed with this album cut. Frankly, I had lost interest in his music after "College Dropout". I was not feeling his next few albums after his debut, but this latest effort hit the nail on the head. "Lost in the World" is fast becoming one of my favourite tracks on the album (quite possibly because its a reflection of how I feel where I stand in my own life at the moment). It samples Bon Iver's "Lost in the Woods"........sick track.

Saw This The Other Day

Check out this new shirt that I saw the other day!

The Suburbs

The older I get, the more I find myself deviating away from electronic music of all forms (whether it be Detroit Techno or Hip Hop). I don't know if the reason why I've been so drawn towards rock music the past 3 years is because Hiphop and electronic music doesn't move my soul the way it used to, or whether it's because I'm maturing as a person.....Techno used to be really personal to me. It wasn't something that I would expect others to understand. If I would ever put on a Jeff Mills track at a house party, people would ask me what is this "repetetive beats of nothing" that I'm listening to? But I would always defend it, because it was something that I identified with deeply. It defied the structure of conventional music (2 verses, a chorus, and a bridge). It was just a loop with very dark and subtle changes. In a nutshell, I loved it. But now I find myself not bother listening to anything other than rock. I was the kind of person when I was young I would make fun of white folks for listening to Pearl Jam and Smashing Pumpkins. It was mainly due to ignorance because back then I was listening to Big Daddy Kane and Paris. But it's funny how things have changed as I get older. Now when I see my younger baby cousins listen to 50 Cent, they laugh at me when they hear me put on a Black Keys or Dead Weather CD. I tell them "I've been in your situation before 15 years ago.......trust me, one day you will be where I am right now".

So can you understand?.....
Why I want a daughter while I'm still young...
I wanna hold her hand....
Show her some beauty before all the damage is done...
But if it's too much to ask, if it's too much to ask....
Then send me a son....

Marvelous World of Color (2010)

So Wednesday marked the official release of my boy Jason James's (aka WEB) album named Marvelous World of Color. I have been following Web's releases in the past few years for quite some time, partially because I went to high school with him, but more importantly because I honestly think this kid has some serious fucking skills.

I grew up listening to rap and saved up for months to finally buy Dr. Dre's "The Chronic" album in 1991 when I was 11 years old. I've listened to rap all my life and have seen good artists that can spit, and shit ones that don't even deserve a mic. Then there are people once in a blue moon that can pick up a mic and can spit rhymes with flow naturally - Jason James is one of them. I'm not saying this because I've known him for years. I'm saying this because I honest to God think he's highly underrated and doesn't get the recognition he deserves for his years in the game.

I had been waiting for this new LP to drop for quite some time because his previous album named "God's Favorite" was a sick album on many levels. The first thing I notice about Marvelous World of Color is how subtle and different it sounds from Jason's previous album. The productions of this album sound more stripped down and abstract than before, almost to the point of minimalism. This is something I can appreciate as it is a reflection of Jay's coming of age and musical maturity. Two tracks on this cut that stand out immediately to me are "The Architect" and "Promised Land".

Show your love, download the album, smoke a tree, and listen to the LP from beginning to end. You be the judge.

Marvelous World of Color can be downloaded free of charge at the following link:

http://jasonjamesrodneyhazard.bandcamp.com