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Paramanu Recordings Presents. . .Descendants of Decay Vol. 1 Mix Tape
Paramanu Recordings
Let me preface this by saying that this review will be done by one person only. Not 2 or 3 splitting this up into complex, meaningless categories while creating mass confusion but, one individual giving his sole opinion. It seems like the media has lost its common sense these days especially when it comes to this art form. But I digress.
As stated many times before, I love the Paramanu label. That love mainly stems from the fact that I (and many others) can relate to their vibe and the fact that they follow their instincts and not a trend. I don’t want to say that they go against the grain. That’s too cliché. In essence, they create what they’re passionate about and that’s something you cannot take away from them. Although this project is a showcase rather than a conceptual piece, this is a mix tape in the truest sense. I’ve reviewed “mix tapes” of other artists where they played out some form of concept or storyline and “DOD” is far from that. Each artist meticulously integrates their skill with much conviction and rather than use the beat as a crutch, a symbiotic bond is formed with the musical backdrop.
The production as always is top notch. Dissonant sounds, dark atmospheric rhythms, sharp cuts, a sprinkle of industrial boom bap permeate the 23 track project. The track listing on the physical copy goes as follows:
1. J.E.S the Universual – Breath of Cosmic Winds (Instrumental) was produced, mixed, mastered by J.E.S the Universual and is previously unreleased (Mixtape Exclusive)
2. Kiew Nikon – Waste Disposal was produced by Kiew Nikon, taken from upcoming album “They Might Not Like You” by Kiew Nikon on Paramanu Recordings [click to continue…]
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Coming off the heels of EX2’s new LP “Resurgence,” Gel Roc drops another solo joint for the masses. “Beautiful Tragedy” is an extremely dope album; so, it angers me when people say that music, specifically Hip Hop, sucks. Unfortunately, we live in an age of laziness and disinterest. Most expect great music to fall from the sky and land on their laps. The term “seek and you shall find” has never more true for this decade. If those that complain would put the same amount of effort in finding the art they want, rather than saturating every social network to be “seen,” they would realize that there’s a whole new world of awesome music out there…For them!
Anyway, Gel Roc has a lot on his mind and “BT” is his way of unloading all this on those that will listen. He’s always had a dark approach to his music and nothing changes with “Beautiful Tragedy.” Many of the topics are insights into the music industry, politics, consumerism and personal reflection to say the least. He tackles each subject with precision and delves deep into each topic at hand. Along with Gel, is a huge staple of ILL emcees to help relay Gel’s message. This reminds me of the whole mid to late 90’s Cali scene where everyone was dope. There are 16 tracks, each one flowing to the point where time is not a concern. You will definitely play a few tracks over again or just listen to the full album 3 or 4 times in a row. Lyrically, Gel is always on top of his game. I can’t imagine any different.
XCzircles (of the Escape Artists) handles the production and DJ Drez applies the supreme cuts we’ve (in the know) grown to love. The production is excellent and is perfectly catered to Gel and the other artists wrecking the mic. The sound is of course dark and edgy but contains that slight boom bap we love and even incorporates a little industrial vibe as well. Some the emcees you’ll run into are Abstract Rude, Aceyalone, Awol One, Vyrus (of EX2), Aamir of Escape Artists, Ecid, Longevity, Joe Dub, Neila, Lord Zen, Mestizo, Mike Eagle and more. As you can see, it’s a “who’s who” of some of the best lyricists in the world. Some of my favorite tracks include “Trust to Dust,” “Step Science” (the lead single), “Beautiful Tragedy” and the Posse cut “Tragic Poetry.”
If you purchase the physical, you’re not going to get some flimsy CDR with generic artwork. It comes looking beautifully crafted with liner notes. The same goes for the digital copy, you get the album art and more so, it’s worth your purchase. So now it boils down to this, do you waste your time on Facebook uploading a million pictures of yourself while complaining about the music industry? Or do you take the time and add great art into your life by purchasing and supporting great artists like Gel Roc. I hope you choose the latter and not the former! Go to http://abolanorecords.com/, http://www.accesshiphop.com/store/?itemid=20586 or http://gelroc.abolanorecords.com/album/beautiful-tragedy . Bless C73Eternal
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Even if you don’t believe you know their name, if you’ve been exposed to media as of late, you’ve probably heard the soul-filled music of Fitz and the Tantrums. That’s because although the band was formed just in 2008, they’ve made significant strides in gaining awareness for their throwback sound and stylized presentation reminiscent of 60′s rhythm and blues. In the recent past, their music has appeared on a T-Mobile HTC phone commercial and television shows, including programs such as Criminal Minds, Desperate Housewives, Mob Wives, and Beverly Hills 90210. Also, the band has performed on late night television shows such as Jimmy Kimmel Live, Conan, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, as well as the Internet music powerhouse, Live From Daryl’s House. In this interview, frontman Michael Fitzpatrick openly shares the story of the indie band’s successes and path so far in the music industry.
Let’s talk a little bit about the inception of the band and also the band’s position in the music business. First of all, what inspired you to start Fitz and the Tantrums and specifically approach the music in this soulful way?
For me, I was just going through a bad breakup and the music in return will truly just come in and save my ass and heal me or give me an opportunity to express myself when I just am basically in a lot of pain. So that was kind of the catalyst. I just was needing to be creative and put my energy somewhere. And then it turns into the style of music, I’ve always been a big fan of it. For myself, I’ve been a singer my whole, entire life. I’ve always been in love with that period of songwriting, but never knew if I had the chops to be able to sing in that soulful style. Sometimes you’re lucky to get in possession of an instrument and it’s just a catalyst for everything and it’s so inspiring. And I got possession of this old church organ and as soon as I turned it on, it’s just like anything I did on it felt like it could be an idea. Maybe it was because it was late at night and nobody else was around, but I was just courageous enough to go for a vocal style that I always was in love with. As soon as I did, for myself as a vocalist, found light and felt genuine and [it] was a real moment of defining myself in terms of what my voice was. From those very first songs, the reaction I got from friends and family and other musicians was pretty crazy and encouraging, and it at that point, just really motivated me to keep pursuing it. You got to do this, this is your thing. This sounds like your thing.
I don’t believe that there are a lot of original soul bands out there. Am I missing something? Maybe I don’t hear a lot about them.
Unless you’re into the scene, I don’t know if you would necessarily in the mainstream, but there is definitely a soul movement happening right now. Most of that, in a ground paving way, can be given to Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. And then there’s other artists like Aloe Blacc, Jamie Lidell, Plan B out of the UK. There’s this whole soul movement. Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings were the backing band and helped write a lot of the stuff for Amy Winehouse’s record. There’s the Adelle’s and Duffy’s. That music is out there. I’m not sure if it always reaches mainstream status or if the radio ever pays attention to it, but it’s definitely out there.
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings have done a lot to bring that sound to the forefront, but what is it about popular music, that in many ways, it’s lost its connection withsoul, which really has been such an influencing catalyst and powerful component of music throughout the history? Up until recently, it was almost absent from most current popular music. Why do you feel that that’s the case?
I think these things are always kind of cyclical. I think that a lot of the remnants of what soul music found its way into R&B, and then R&B has just had its own evolution, and then there’s this whole convergence with technology and people getting into autotune-DJ-electronic-music culture, which are all totally rad and valid, but I think that one of the reasons why soul music is having a resurgence right now is because we’re just at a point where some people are maybe feeling disconnected from that music. There’s a certain amount of sterility to it and ultimately, people are responding to soul music because it has a heart; because it comes from an emotional place; and because it relies on nothing more than great musicianship, performance and just an old school sort of songwriting melody and great players. That’s really what our band is about. I’m so proud to play with these guys because they’re incredible musicians. Anybody can make a good recording these days, but to me, the true test is go see a band live. Can they pull it off because technology allows anyone to fudge it these days. But, if you’re up there playing live, you’re going to be able to tell if this is the real deal or not.
Let’s talk about the progression of the band, in regard to what you were doing up and to the point where you were signed to Dangerbird Records.
I started the project. Before that, I was working for an engineer and working trying to do composing and stuff like that to pay the bills. The band came together very quickly after those first couple of songs, and it’s been a kind of a blessed experience. Five phone calls and that’s the band that’s there today, which is not the case when you usually try and put a band together. It takes a lot of time to try and find the right people. There’s not really a soul music scene in LA, but we just started playing, started getting great responses from people and we just started building our fan base one show at a time. We did a little bit of touring on our own and we just got some really lucky breaks, and that was all because of word-of-mouth.
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Insomniac Magazine recently participated in an interview with Julian Lennon to discuss his new release and a brand new company called theRevolution LLC. Lennon and music industry professionals Michael Birch (sold Bebo to AOL for $850 million) and Todd Meaghe (created the first 50/50 artist music store) started the company as a new approach to releasing music and working with artists. The company scouts talent, and then helps set up these artists with their own businesses. The company assists the artists with a variety of business endeavors including: finance, development, digital and physical distribution, promotion, and other important aspects of their careers.
In this first segment, Julian talks about this new approach to the music industry.
[click to continue…]
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