MA.A.D CITY

BLACK BRAD PITT

GANGWAY

ESC

Been blasting this new Sagat in my car real loud while I'm alone driving to and from the post office and work. Last posted about Sagat late last year about a song on his Soundloud that doesn't exist anymore (this happens often -- check mini jam "HDLDHD" before it's gone). My favorite track from Few Mysteries Solved in a Year of Contact is "ESC," tropical and bludgeoning before giving way to pre-storm grain field ambience waves. Vlek Records has been cool to offer a 12" for me to give away. Please leave your email address in the comments section and I will pick one at random in two weeks. Stream the entire EP plus an outtake and a Wanda Group remix on Soundcloud.

CON LOS TERRORISTAS

Shouts to Astro Nautico and Atlantics Vol. 2 -- it's too huge for me to do a single post on, but I've been into the goofy Baauer Kylie Minogue jam and just heard "Harlem Shake," recently got released on Mad Decent imprint Jeffree's. This one's for real.

BIRD OR BAT

Here is a new video for The Garment District's "Bird Or Bat" from their 2011 tape Melody Elder (Night People). The video was created by Albert Birney, shot by W.S. Schweers at The Forest Glen outside of Pittsburgh, PA. The clip captures the playful nature of the song, all soft and vintage-looking with footage of well-dressed young women frolicking in the green. Thanks to The Garment District's Jennifer Baron for dropping this one in my inbox, if only for another reason to share this ultra-pleasant Summer song.

YARD SKIN

Been bouncing around to this new Dynooo track. His cassette tape De Vlindermes is due out early April on Triple You Tapes. "Yard Skin" will not appear on the cassette. Stay tuned for cover art, videos and remixes leading up to release.

BENGELA

(via XLR8R)

Let's be for real -- this shit bangs. Brey's record Brasil drops March 19 on Svetlana Industries. Check a sampler below.

ADHOC KICKSTARTER

Dear readers/listeners of Friendship Bracelet,

I have yet to post anything in these pages about how Emilie Friedlander and Ric Leichtung are trying their damnedest to raise enough money to launch their new independent publication adhoc.fm, so today is the day. In case you didn't know, Emilie and Ric were the editors of the now-defunct Pitchfork Media project Altered Zones. They did a fantastic job managing all the contributors and getting shit done and it was a pleasure to work with them. I have been asked to contribute a column to the new venture and can't wait to flesh out the topic and start putting together some pieces for you all to enjoy.

Anyway, this is really just a last-ditch plea for you to dig deep in your pockets and pledge a few bucks to the creation of this independent outsider music publication. There's only five days to go, so get on it.

POTLUCK ELEVENS AND FRIENDSHIP BRACELET PRESENT...

Hey Western Massachusetts, this show is tonite.

VIA

Falling hard for "Via" from Mombassa, Kenya's W@zushi & YOme. Thanks to Fader's Benjamin Lebrave and his Lungu Lungu column for highlighting the track, produced by YOme's Manager/Producer/Father Wawesh Mjanja. A self-described "Kenyan Visionary," Mjanja helped found the label Penya Africa before moving from Nairobi to coastal Mombassa. According to Fader, he's been producing forward-thinking tunes for "a number of promising young artists" like his daughter and W@zushi, a Swahili rap duo. Check a download of "Via" and stream two more YOme tracks from her Reverb Nation page below.










Also... "The Official Kenyan New Year Celebration Party Anthem" a.k.a. "VUKA MWAKA"

CRYSTAL CAVERNS 1991

Intense new Lone track for stream from the R&S Records Soundcloud. "Crystal Caverns 1991" is from Lone's new record Galaxy Gardens, out soon on R&S. Thanks to XLR8R for the tip on this one - they call it a "logical progression" from his last two records, which means Lone has returned with his euphoric club batteria intact.




There's also this little ambient piece from Lone's Soundcloud:




And this Model 500 track from R&S Soundcloud is killer.

IMBUE UP

I first heard word of Pressed And a couple weeks ago cos they were playing some shows with Cc and Featureless Ghost. Just heard their Imbue Up tape for the first time, available for stream/download from Crash Symbols' bandcamp (and as of this moment, there's a single physical copy remaining). Opening track "Fire Shelf" was remixed by Ra Cailum and then Tragik (whoever that is) rapped over it and there is a video down there and it's a sexy one.

SHE HEAT

Check a new self-directed video from Piotr Kurek for the song "She" from his recent Digitalis Ltd tape Heat. Kurek is from Warsaw and is the leading member of the project Pietnastka and until he emailed me earlier today I hadn't heard his music but it's all fantastic cosmic rumbling and weird meditative Kraut. Click here for instructions for locating one of the last few copies of Heat. Stream A-side track "Organ Slide" under the rad J-card scan.

600G PER PLANT OUTSIDE

Came across a Soundcloud by the name of vxlam late last week. Real into the weed-obsession, the late-nite nodder vibe and all associated images. Unfortunately a bunch of the newest tracks uploaded are only samples, though "Purple Jems," uploaded just this past week, clocks in over four minutes and acts as a good starting point for vxlam's tunes. Check bandcamp for full streams of tapes with tracklisting.

DESKTOP PAIN IS NOW

Just want to say thanks to everyone who has downloaded Desktop Pain, the new Nem270 EP. If you have yet to check it out, the EP is available for stream on bandcamp and, since Triple You Tapes ran out of free bandcamp downloads, available for download through Mediafire.

A few words on Nem270:

Nemanja Gostimirovic is a musician/producer from Bosnia, currently residing in Ottawa, Canada. He has been producing tracks over the past couple years generally for Bay Area rappers like the Green Ova crew (Main Attrakionz, Squadda B, Mondre, Shady Blaze) and Yarrow Slaps. He even produced a track from Lil B's Bitch Mob mixtape. Nem possesses an incredible ear for hip hop production and is highly prolific. He mixes elements like modern hi-hat fluttery, chopped soul samples and vintage bass rumbling, harvesting a unique and remarkably distinct sound.

Desktop Pain is a hand-chosen collection of Nem270 instrumentals from the past few years that were either shelved or simply too weird to rap over. I was given the privilege of personally selecting and sequencing the tracks over the past six months or so. Included are some serious bangers like "Bay Area Milka" and "Short Fuses" right next to psychedelic beat gum like "BGO" and "Tapeng A Wave." The collage used for the middle of the cover image was made by Gnarfield and I designed the font and the layout.

Stream the EP below then download for free and share.

OH MERCY

Psyched on this new Food Pyramid track and their migration into tight dance territories. This move has been brewing for a while but really got spicy with their recent Kollider/Kontraband 7" split with Deep Earth. Both contributions to that split are pulsing monoliths of danced-up kraut. The Deep Earth portion is decidedly more cosmic and can be streamed/downloaded below, but I suggest tracking down the 7" to enjoy the A-side as well.

"Oh Mercy" is from Food Pyramid's new LP/CD Mango Sunrise, out March 6 on Moon Glyph. Stream that below and pre-order the record

BLUE POP

Leaving Records' 18th release will be the long-awaited Resolutions cassette by EMV, available in physical and digital formats February 21. Leaving Records has given me the go-ahead to post a couple of my favorite tracks from the tape. I've decided to present two distinct faces of EMV. The first is "Foodborne," quite grimy and driven by a hazy beat sure to enjoy the company of a weedsmoke plume. The second, "Blue Pop (Popped)," shows off EMV's taste for groaning and gritty yet contemplative ambience. Throughout Resolutions the motifs of stoned percussion and ambient cloud meandering intersect often, making for a vast and unsettling slice of advanced beat music/sound collage.

Check out those two tracks plus Dem Hunger's Yellow Bubble Remix of "Porch Step" below, as well as a video Walter Gross made for his remix of EMV's tracks "June Bug" and "Old Hat New Clothes."


EMV - Foodborne

EMV - Blue Pop (Popped)

EMV - Porch Step (Dem Hunger Yellow Bubble Remix)

T VISION

Last week birthed a new Wanda Group digital 7" available for Mediafire download. In case you are not familiar, Wanda Group is one of the many projects from the same gentleman who brought us Dem Hunger, The Hers, Arafat Group and the Alien Paint Tumblr. Really digging both tracks. The A-side, "T Vision," burbles along like a submarine or a space station and is quickly becoming one of my favorite pieces of music I've ever heard from Lou. Stream that one below and, if you dig, download both tracks together. Also posted somewhat recently was a weird rainbow video with white circles for the track "VV Eater," above.


Wanda Group - T Vision

I'VE GOT FEELINGS TOO

Killer new Soundcloud streamer from Slava. "I've Got Feelings Too" is from Slava's Soft Control EP, out next week on Software.