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Some of you may know about The Next Logical Progression by Gift Of Gab, but did you ever imagine that his next logical progression would be this video? It’s for the track “Everything Is Fine”, featuring fellow Quannum fam Lyrics Born and Lateef The Truth Speaker. The video was beautifully directed by Justin Berger.
Musician/producer Headnodic has created an online video series that he loves so much, he decided to name it after himself. It’s called Live From Headnodic’s, where he brings in various musicians, rappers, and singers to have a jam session of sorts to see and hear what happens. If you haven’t heard about this year, fear not, this is only episode two and for this show he brings in Lateef The Truth Speaker, The Seshen, Raashan Ahmad, Max MacVeety, Trio Zincalo and others.
Headnodic will be releasing a new album on October 23rd called The Iguana (Ropeadope), and a review on this very site is forthcoming.
Gift Of Gab has released a video from his current album The Next Logical Progression, and in comes in the form of “Protocol”, directed by Justin Berger. Low key, but never afraid to open locks.
It may be Lei Day on this May Day, but in other parts of the United States and the world, there have been a few protests of interest, specifically from the Occupy movement. Arrests have been made in Seattle, Portland (Oregon) and other cities, but they’re not giving up. Perhaps it’s appropriate that Latryx have dropped a video for the Headnodic-produced track, “Call To Arms”, on this day. You can download the single for free directly from LatryxAuthentic.com (32mb), and in case you’re wondering “wait, how come a single is 32mb?” it’s because the file is a zip (tested) that contains the following mixes of the song:
1) Album Version
2) Clean Version
3) Instrumental
4) A Capella
Get at/to it.
Gift Of Gab has been unusually quiet as of late, which is odd because let’s face it: when you have a gift, and that gift is to gab… well, you know what I’m talking about. He’s wiping off the dust collected and is about to drop a new album called Next Logical Progression, so anyone who wanted to know what would come next from him, this is it. The new album will be released on March 27th, and this is the official track listing, with some quality guests joining him:
1. NLP
2. Introlude
3. Rise (featuring Raashan Ahmad and Zumbi)
4. Protocol (featuring Samantha Kravitz)
5. Everything Is Fine (featuring George Clinton and Latryx)
6. Toxic (featuring Martin Luther)
7. Wack But Good People
8. Effed Up
9. Market & 8th
10. Dream Warrior (featuring Ms K)
11. So So Much
12. Beyond Logic
One interesting factor about this album is that it caters less to his select use of samples, and more to trying out more instrumentation. You can hear (and download) the results by checking out “Protocol”.
Gift of Gab: Protocol ft. Samantha Kravitz by quannumprojects
On top of that, fans will be able to hear some of these new songs and a few classics or two when he goes on a brief tour this month:
January 20… Crystal Bay, NV (Crown Room)
January 21… Chico, CA (El Ray Theater)
January 22… Sacramento, CA (Harlowes)
January 25… Eugene, OR (Cozmic)
January 26… Portland, OR (Mt. Tabor)
January 27… Victoria, BC (Sugar)
January 28… Seattle, WA (Nectar Lounge)
January 29… Bellingham, WA (Wild Buffalo)
Pigeon John will be joining your favorite DJ savior, DJ Shadow, on a forthcoming tour starting next week Monday in Vancouver, British Columbia.
DJ Shadow & Pigeon John Fall 2010 Tour
Oct 25 Mon Vancouver BC @ Commodore Ballroom
Oct 26 Tue Seattle WA @ Showbox at the Market
Oct 27 Wed Portland OR @ Roseland Theatre
Oct 30 Sat Las Vegas NV @ House of Blues
Oct 31 Sun Los Angeles CA @ House of Blues
Nov 1 Mon Anaheim CA House of Blues
Nov 3 Wed Albuquerque NM @ Sunshine Theater
Nov 5 Fri Dallas TX @ House of Blues
Nov 6 Sat Houston TX @ House of Blues
Nov 7 Sun New Orleans LA @ House of Blues
Nov 9 Tue Atlanta GA @ Loft at Center Stage
Nov 11 Thu Baltimore MD @ Rams Head Live
Nov 12 Fri Toronto ONT @ The Phoenix
Nov 13 Sat Montreal QUE @ Club Soda
Nov 14 Sun Boston MA @ House of Blues
Nov 15 Mon NYC @ Irving Plaza
Nov 18 Thu Cleveland OH @ House of Blues
Nov 19 Fri Chicago IL @ Park West
Nov 21 Sun Denver CO @ Ogden Theater
Nov 23 Tue Salt Lake City UT @ The Depot
Before the tour begins, Pigeon John will do two dates in Colorado this week. Keep in mind these shows are NOT part of his tour with DJ Shadow.
Oct 22 Fri Colorado Springs CO @ The Black Sheep
Oct 23 Sat Durango CO @ The Abbey Theater
What you are looking at is the approved final artwork for the forthcoming album by Lyrics Born, As U Were (Mobile Home Recordings/Decon). I like how the young man behind the baby sports a T-shirt with a cartoon Lyrics Born on it.
If the cover suggests someone in transition, the same can be said for the music on the album, scheduled for release on October 26th. The music will feature everything you’ve come to expect from Lyrics Born, from the hip-hop to the soul and the funk, and perhaps you’ll be surprised that he has a love for infectious pop as well, as heard in the first preview of the album in the form of “Lies x 3″, which is being made available for free at LyricsBorn.com starting July 19th. For a bit of the familiar, some of the people who worked with him on As U Were include wife Joyo Velarde, fellow Quannum alumni Gift Of Gab and Lateef The Truth Speaker, along with Trackademicks, Jake One, Headnodic, Sam Sparro, and Francis and The Lights, a nice mixture of who you already like and those whose work you’ve been wanting to get into.
A distribution deal with Decon allows LB to own the rights to his music, something many independent artists are opting for. The deal also makes it possible for his music to be used in a number of ways, so outside of the traditional television and radio outlets, it will be music promotion 2.0, so you may very well hear him in a few HBO shows, maybe NPR (anyone who has heard some of NPR’s commercial breaks in recent years know that someone in the know has an ear for raers), perhaps a skateboard or surf DVD, or in places unknown.
What is known is the As U Were cover art and the music you can take a listen to by heading to his website. Also known: his commitment to making quality music and moving his audiences in all the right ways, and new ways. You only have a three month wait, do what you must to mark the day.
General Electriks is the brainchild of French musician Hervé Salters, who some may know for his work with Blackalicious on The Craft or being 1/3 of the group Honeycut. It’s been four years since General Elektriks released a debut album, but after hearing Good City For Dreamers (Quannum), you’ll realize it was worth the wait.
Salters is someone who will no doubt be called a one-man genius, but he loves to play a wide range of instruments and get himself locked to play it all himself. What you hear is not just some lo-fi independent funk, but there’s soul, pop, and just an independent spirit that you never heard from someone like Remy Shand, or at least something closer to Shuggie Otis. In fact, listening to this and it sounds like a long lost album that very few people know of, but you get a shit-eating grin everytime you share it with people, who will say “what the falakian is this ship, and how come this has never entered my harbor?” It’s a diverse collage that Salters stews up to create that musical soup you know will provide nourishment for days, weeks, even years to come. It makes perfect sense for him to be a part of the Quannum family, because those guys have always been about unearthing the soothingly obscure. For now allow Salters to remain just under the service, but tap into Good City For Dreamers and understand why good music like this can only stay under for so long.
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Gift Of Gab‘s new album, Escape 2 Mars, will be released on November 3rd, just in time for you to collect aluminum cans and turn them in to buy this. You can pre-order it now through Giftstribution.com (his online store), but to preview it, take a listen to a track he did with Del The Funky Homosapien and Brother Ali called “Dreamin’” (4.69mb)
Brand new music from Lyrics Born, this is the first single from LB’s forthcoming album, due out sometime in 2010. The track brings him together once again with Lateef The Truth Speaker, and this video, directed by Raphael LaMotta of Aspci, features cameos from Joyo Velarde, Kat Ouano of Crown City Rockers, Pigeon John, Zion I, and others. The song itself is being made available as a free MP3 download over at LyricsBorn.com, go get it.
