platinum pied pipers/sa-ra/the new downbeat-rnb thing: why don't i like this stuff more?

i think i might be an rnb-ist! actually, i think i just might be thinking about this stuff in the wrong mindset. (i.e. singles instead of albums or mixes.) (or maybe i just don't smoke enough weed anymore.)

i love jay dee, which is why i keep giving this stuff a second chance.

the 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover is pretty great.

And yeah, samba/r&b 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover is waaaay better than it could have been.

I love that Sa-Ra tour CDr that is going around, here's to hoping they don't fuck with the formula too much on their upcoming studio disc.

how many sub-jay dee beats and programming can anyone take though? i hear that sound of his in so many underground producers, i just want them to move past that mellowness, that stacatto drum pattern, and that 'this could be slum village couldnt it?!' mood music.

"i mentioned in the Sa Ra thread how the major complaint of these guys is lack of songwriting, but i just don't even understand what that means. i mean, there's a beat, a chord progression (or not, but a lot of the jazz i love is only one chord, and NEU!). there are vocals, there's sometimes a hook. i mean, coming from someone who loves jungle and dance music, how can you expect it in this genre, but not in that. are you an r'n'b-ist?"

but this doesnt come from jungle and dance, it comes from soul, R&b and hip hop. id say these guys grew up on hip hop, then are trying their hand on R&b and soul type stuff, and it shows in the songwriting, cos its pretty static and mechanical. they havent quite understood that not all music is made like hip hop is. the problem i have with ppp and sa-ra is a lot of their music lacks any sort of momentum, it just glides along, or jogs along, and never really goes anywhere. its all about maintaining a vibe rather than developing a song as such. kinda like a hip hop beat and someone singing rap lyrics. the songs with georgia (i think) on the ppp album are the absolute pits cos of this. shes just rambling on barely strung together words that sound like they should be rapped instead of sing. and the funny thing is that despite their reactionary dissing of neo soul, theyre still close to that sound with their mellowness, their tranquility and their songlessness. (btw, sa ra are not peppermints and incense, lyrically speaking - people should listen closer).

all that said, sa-ra do have a few good songs to their credit, only about 3 or 4 though.

Sa-Ra have a new single/mini-compilation of their production work for Pharaoh Monche, J Dilla and Steve Spacek out now, called "Second Time Around." It is- como se dice?- fucking awesome. And apparently Kanye's signed them- if I hear "Glorious" or "Double Dutch" on mainstream pop radio I will be orgasmically happy.

waajeed live on deviation (bbc 1xtra)

1. diverse - aint right
2. platinum pied pipers - try me
3. jonny miller - everyday
4. teddy seven - steady
5. alison crockett - U R (yam who? remix)
6. leroy hutson - love this feeling (moodymann reedit)
7. metal fingers - orange blossom instrumental
8. platinum pied pipers ft elleuud - one to love you
9. waajeed - vangelis
10. slum village - la la
11. jay dee - guitar
12. jay dee - it's dope
13. jay dee - kaamal
14. sa ra creative partners - glorious
15. fourtet - serious as your life (jay dee remix ft guilty simpson)
16. wajeed - untitled beat
17. platinum pied pipers - better days
18. waajeed - tron
19. theo parrish - musical metaphors
20. amp fiddler - superficial (moodymann remix)
21. urban tribe - covert action
22. galaxy 2 galaxy - journey of the dragons
23. wajeed - tron
24. rhythim is rhythim - it is what it is
25. dego & kaidi tatham - ain't nothing you can't feel
26. dabrye - you know the formula right
27. brandy - turn it up

killer set, esp if you're feeling the whole jay-dee-meets-detroit-techno sort of vibe.

hold tight for the YSI.

anyway before we get to the YSI:

it's all abt CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT.

it's hard to love this shit when it's SLSKed in the form of hastily-assembled "bootleg"/"unreleased" mp3 folders on random people's. i especially had this problem w/ sa-ra. i don't want to hear a 20 track "compilation" that's 1/3rd intros/skits and 1/3rd studio outtakes and random beat compositions.

on the other hand, hearing it in mixed form w/ benji b and waajeed's heartwarming collegial chatter over the top ... OMGs all around. why have i been sleeping on PPP?!?!

plantlife is gooood.

(any idea how long 164 mb should take on 802.11g broadband?)

well, expect it by ... tomorrow, at the latest.

http://s8.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0EZMPVKF3OU18170O5LZ8JTU2B

would you be at all interested in a DJ Houseshoes mix? he's a detroit dj who specializes in all this stuff. the beats are all fantastic, but (honestly) the mcs are kinda backpackery. i can upload if wanted

(poor strongo - working on dead president's day?)

(p.s. thnx dude)

i think i've heard most everything that they played. the coolest parts were the interviews and hearing that Amp Fiddler taught Jay Dee how to use the MPC. i've got the amp fiddler album, but i never really got into it. i should go back and give it another chance now

Weather Report - River People

xpost - yeah, it's a really good show. i do appreciate it.

i love that diverse album

www.brucewang.com/adoru/sa-ra.zip

link's still active.

also make sure it's really finished downloading

anyone else getting this?

^ WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE.

free download http://fatbeats.com/blackmilkpressuremixcd/

http://www.myspace.com/stacyepps

anyone else doing this kind of thing? im hopelessly out of touch w/ everything r&b.

What's the Science? Is the question we direct to all those that dwell on the Planet Earth! From the Mother Continent of Africa, to the hills of Europe, on over to the wilderness of North America, all the way back to the Coast of Asia, living under the umbrella of Hip-Hop Culture. We ask you all, What's the Science? We are living in a time where Hip-Hop Culture is one of the most powerful forces that exists around us that helps unite people of all races, colors, creeds, religions and schools of thought under one flag. It's time to give proper thanks and praise and reverence to the ERA that raised us and guided this same movement, that still exists today, on the next level. We stand here before you as Students of the same conscious movement that birthed the likes of AFRIKA BAMBATAA, KRS ONE, RAKIM, PUBLIC ENEMY, BRAND NUBIAN, X-CLAN, POOR RIGHTEOUS TEACHERS, KMD, THE NATIVE TONGUE and countless others that brought forth an entire essence that took the world by storm and made it cool to be intelligent. What's the Science? How long will it take us to stand up strong again to make sure that the youth have some substance to feed off in order to grow into powerful, resourceful and responsible adults able to make positive changes to the world in which we live. What's The Science?

1. Inspiration
2. Love, Hugs And Hip-Hop Soul feat. Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Nick Rosen
3. The Right Song feat. Tiffany Paige, Fabian Ammon, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson
4. The Natural Scriptures
5. Higher feat. Tiffany Paige, Daedelus
6. Circulate feat. Invizible Handz, Nobody, Flying Lotus
7. What's The Science?
8. Honor, Courage and Karma feat. Prince Po, Dexter Story, Nate Morgan
9. Constant
10. The Replenish
11. Freedom feat. Tiffany Paige
12. The Dream feat. Dwight Trible, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson

http://www.undergroundhiphop.com/store/covers_large/WTS01LP.jpg

So the new PPP record Abundance is around. Hip hop elements are pretty much indiscernible. The music sounds like a live band, sometimes in a straight motown/stax soul kind of way, as in the excellent "On A Cloud", sometimes with cosmic funk keys, as in "Luv Affair". A handclap-doublehandclap rhythm pops up often. Track six, "Sanctuary", is the first song that could be called a downbeat r n' b ballad in the sa-ra mold, with beats, funk fuzz and off-kilter effects that continue into "Ain't No Ifs or Maybes". "The Ghost Of Aveiro" starts like a poetic torch song with sustained notes over Latin rhythms, then after a samba breakdown with dizzy high horns becomes something highly danceable with excited vocals. The double-handclaps re-appear for "Countless Excuses", a sweet poppy soul song of regret backed with spacey synths. Both of these are A+. Fuzz and scuzz returns on "Dirty Secrets", this time with a stompy schaffel backbeat. The two-minute "Goodbye" goes four to the floor with a Kraftwerk keyboard motif, introduces some snares and is in danger of becoming full-on dance music before stopping.

Singing is by Coultrain, Karma Stewart, Jamila Raegan and Neco Redd. It's fifteen tracks, sixteen if you count the hidden one. Clocks in under an hour and still felt a bit long to me on first listen. Definitely interesting though.

http://www.myspace.com/aqeel

love a mystery!

I could not get into the new record at all.

aw, i loved abundance. especially the karma stewart numbers, "on a cloud" is fierce as fuck

new ppp is way better than old ppp. but even then, i like it, but it can seem like its trying to do too much at once.

Abundance is all right, but Triple P is a lot better imo. All the great personalities that were present on the first record got shafted in favor of anono-soulers.