scissorkick

Sometimes, the idea of hype as a tangible concept is lost on me. The press (myself included) generally tend to swarm over the albums that deserve praise but more interesting to me is how an artist gains notoriety with only the most minimal press, hijacking the underground circuit with an intelligent mix of well-timed vinyl remixes, retrospective albums and new material. One such artist is the UK's Pedro who should not be confused with Pedro the Lion (look out for some stuff from Headphones, David Bazan's new project later next week), Pedro Martinez or President Pedro of Napolean Dynamite fame. This Pedro is James Rutledge, a UK musician and producer who has skillfully risen above the fray with a couple of pastoral electronic gems and some interesting remixes by big name friends like Cherrystones, Danger Mouse, Four Tet, Koushik and Prefuse 73. I saw the remix record, Fear and Resilience Remixes in the store recently and checked the vinyl. Some really nice stuff. This posting however is from the upcoming Early Pedro LP soon to be released on Melodic Records on April 4th, a compilation of early EPs available for the first time on CD. Like his labelmate, L. Pierre (Aidan Moffat of Arap Strap) this is an almost entirely instrumental record of fluctuating moods yet tethered to a minimal pastoral atmosphere more similar to the recent stuff from F.S. Blumm than the orchestral cinematics of L. Pierre. Turn down the lights for this one and get a comfortable pillow ready. For more information and to order all Pedro records head on over to the Melodic Records Web site.
Pedro :: "Blessed is the Savant"

Posted by Steve at 3/31/2005 11:19:00 AM | Permalink | Comments   

If you've been to scissorkick in the past, you probably know that Norway's Jaga Jazzist is one of our absolute favorite bands currently churning out the unclassifiable tunes. So it is with great pleasure that today's post is a track from their upcoming record What We Must to be released on Ninja Tune later this season. What will surely be regarded as a perfectly timed Spring release, the new album features seven epic tracks crossing countless genres but what will stick out most noticeably to fans is the heavy presence of guitars. Some stretches sound as if Tortoise and My Bloody Valentine copulated and birthed a new form of hyphenated monster like post-prog-shoegazer-rock or fusion-jazz-ambient-rock. Also, fans will love the additional presence of vocals, especially in the haunting, elegiac "Swedenborgske Rom" which includes the same 10-member harmony that floored me when the Jagas played live in NYC last year. Since this is a much anticipated release (and since Ninja Tune came down on me for posting their artists in the past) it will only be up for a few days, so get this now and please enjoy! Purchase Jaga Jazzist records and learn more about the band. And make sure to head on over to one of our favorite blogs, The Suburbs Are Killing Us for a couple of Jaga-related nuggets from the Horntveth Brothers side project The National Bank.

Jaga Jazzist :: "Stardust Hotel"

Posted by Steve at 3/30/2005 06:34:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

Huge chunk of dance floor groove today that would fit perfectly in a set of bangers featuring Fort Knox, All Good Funk Alliance and Dynamo Productions comes via the new Malente remix compilation out on Unique Records. While a lot of the material on here has been released by the German producer with a couple of full-lengths under his belt, nothing scorches with more heat than this burner remixed by the man of the hour, Dr. Rubberfunk that simply continues the good Doctor's winning streak of pure funk fusion for an open crowd. With a nod to both Grand Funk Railroad and the banging Bollywood sitar funk of the 70s, this track will easily transform the floor from a cold living dead to a raging inferno. Although an "I Sell Marihunana" single has been released it does not include this amazing remix, only available on the new 2x LP. For more info on Malente, check out the new album site HERE
Malente :: "I Sell Marihuana (Dr. Rubberfunk's Sitar Boogie RMX)

Posted by Steve at 3/29/2005 04:11:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

Although its been referred to as "The Dub Night" or "Return of the Dub" I hijacked the party for the flyer and renamed this upcoming Saturday jam Dub Attack because you will not find better live and DJ'd dub anywhere in the city this weekend. Both live bands, Dub Nomads and Dub Trio should be listed among NYC's most compelling live acts, weaving intricate layers and textured ambience over taut breaks. Every party at the BPM space is an event and the closes vibe I have experienced since the burgeoning leftfield club days back in London. I know I reminisce alot about that, but honestly, these BPM parties are can't miss. To get you feeling the vibe on this dismal Thursday, download a track sent over to scissorkick by Joe Tomino of Dub Trio. "Drive By Dub" is a slab of traditional downtempo dub in the Studio One tradition, with a nice melodica reverb Augustus Pablo-style. With plenty of deep dub and reggae provided by Bastard Jazz's DRM, you will inevitably have to yield to the 3-pronged Dub Attack. Saturday 3/26: BPM is located at 237 Kent between Grand and North 1st in Williamsburg, Brooklyn DJ by DRM (Bastard Jazz Recordings, Brooklyn) from 9:00pm Dub Nomads (Concent) from 10:30pm Dub Trio (Roir) from 12:00am Sugested Donation $8.00 at door
Dub Trio :: "Drive By Dub"

Posted by Steve at 3/24/2005 01:35:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

A little nugget today in celebration of a beautiful first Spring day. Those of you familiar with the West London Broken Beat scene surely know Dego McFarlane (4Hero, 2000 Black) and Kaidi Tatham (Bugz, Agent K). Their new Silhouette Brown project teams the established producers with two of London's most talented vocalists -- Deborah Jordan and Bembe Segue -- and makes a legitimate argument for the guys at Other Music or Satellite to start a Broken R&B section. I remember thinking years ago that Broken Beat would be the perfect bridge to get Americans into more aggressive drum and bass breaks. Save the fleeting Craig David 2-Step rage, I couldn't have been more wrong. Yet this record actually is more of an appropriate bridge between solid contemporary R&B (often mislabeled as neo-soul) and London Broken Beat. It's a much more subtle yet effective way to start sneaking better music onto our payola-powered, cowardly programmed mainstream airwaves. I think after a listen to "Whose in Charge" you will know exactly what I mean.

Silhouette Brown :: "Whose in Charge"

Posted by Steve at 3/22/2005 05:35:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

I promised I'd get back on track Monday and now that the hectic pace of the last 2 weeks has slowed, I will be posting regularly again, starting with a track from the newest release from Daedelus. In my opinion, his newest batch of inclusive beat fodder, Exquisite Corpse, is his best record yet, featuring eccentric touches and a humbling expansiveness that truly know no boundaries. There are a handful of quality collaborations here with the likes of MF Doom, Mike Ladd, Prefuse 73 and TTC but I decided to post the instrumental "Just Briefly" because to me, it represents what Daedelus does best. Juxtaposing acoustic guitars with a solid midtempo break, psychedelic samples and emotive atmospherics (even a stretch reminiscent of Luke Vibert's "Shadows" at the half way point), it shows a creative perspective undeterred by misguided musical preconceptions. Exactly what scissorkick loves. Look out this week for new stuff from Odd Nosdam, Animal Collective, Quasimoto and Jaga Jazzist. It'll be a big week. Thanks for all your patience. For more info about Daedelus and ordering this record (or his others), check out his Web site here.

Daedelus :: "Just Briefly"

Posted by Steve at 3/21/2005 10:23:00 AM | Permalink | Comments   

Because of a hectic work week, postings will resume on Monday. Apologies for not keeping up this week but it has been truly hellish around here. In the meantime however, head on over to our Tuesday Smashup jam tomorrow night at Sin Sin in NYC. Last party was a total sucess -- open bar, free giveaways and great music -- and this one will be more of the same. The flyer is below and has all the info you need. OPEN BAR for an hour, so please stop by and say hello.

Posted by Steve at 3/14/2005 01:32:00 PM | Permalink | Comments   

Some big postings coming on the foreign downtempo front starting with today's gem from Tosca, the G-Stone dynamic duo of Richard Dorfmeister + Rupert Huber. I've followed Dorfmeister and Huber since their days as Delhi 9 and after the tragic spilt of K & D (with Peter Kruder), when the pair dropped their first release as Tosca (the classic "Chocolate Elvis" 12"), I knew immediately that they'd take the mantle as the premier Viennese purveyors of the delicate dub. Their new record, J.A.C.comes out in a few months, but scissorkick landed a promo copy and of course you all get a teaser. The new record features collaborations with Earl Zinger, Valerie Ettienne and Austrian rock legend Stefan Hadik Wildner. All I can say about the new record is that fans of previous records Opera and Suzuki will be pleased. I especially enjoy the added emphasis on guitars throughout the entirety of the record. The posting for "Rondo Acapricio" is vintage Tosca, with a tight break, solid groove and more malty smoothness than a glass of Dubbel Bock on a spring Saturday. For more information about Tosca and to purchase records, click here

Posted by Steve at 3/07/2005 12:28:00 PM | Permalink | Comments