Roots Manuva vs. Matt Helders (Arctic Monkeys)

Aug 5th, 2008 Dub/Reggae, Electronic/Dance, Remixes steve 1 min read

Few things are as exciting as a really top-notch, unsolicited, new-to-the-world remix. It wouldn’t be sensible of me to reveal my sources, but scissorkick has recently come across a truly stellar remix of Roots Manuva’s “Again and Again” by Arctic Monkeys’ drummer Matt Helders.

DJ Mujava

Jul 23rd, 2008 Afrobeat, DJ Weapons, Electronic/Dance, House, World steve 3 min read

I try not to make a lot of bold predictions on SK. I am but one man with unpredictable, selfish and often misguided taste. Truth is, far too many people spend their days trying to forecast the next big trend in music. I’ll leave XLR8R to coin the next sub-genre and predict music’s next great champion (often incorrectly). However, in my very small world, it…

High Places (Allez-Allez Remix)

Jul 11th, 2008 Indie, Remixes, Techno steve 1 min read

Back in the day — now easily over a decade or so — my old friend Sam and I used to share a kebab over at Crystal, skate around the Sommerset parking lot (badly) and engage in friendly arguments about music. While the doner ingestion (and resultant swamp-ass) and skateboarding have steadily slowed to a halt, we both still shoot the shit over IM about…

Flying Lotus + Lil’ Wayne

Jul 8th, 2008 DJ Weapons, Downtempo, Glitch, Hip-Hop steve 1 min read

Here’s a quick little nugget just sent out by the Warp camp from LA’s Flying Lotus, who will be dropping a series of EPs throughout August featuring new non-album tracks, very special collaborations, and remixes from some of your favorites. Here’s one of the first, featuring none other than the self-professed “greatest rapper alive” Lil’ Wayne. To be honest, Wayne’s surreal voice and one-of-a-kind flow…

Blktop Project

Jun 28th, 2008 Downtempo, Instrumental, Jazz, Soul steve 1 min read

“How did I not know about this group?!” It’s one of the most satisfying questions music fans can ask themselves. You work hard to follow an artist, group, or label, constantly staying on top of releases yet still an entire project can exist under your astute radar. Such is the Blktop Project for SK, a veritable personal supergroup of some of my favorite artists working…

Nomo

Jun 20th, 2008 Afrobeat, Instrumental steve 2 min read

Michigan-based ensemble Nomo are back with their newest, Ghost Rock, just in time for the summer heatwaves that will undoubtedly settle upon us. I know I have today’s post categorized under “afrobeat” but the truth is that Nomo’s sound is much broader, fusing krautrock’s repetition, the deepness of funk, the borderless perspective of world music, the virtuosity of jazz and the sonic palettes of modern…

Presto

Jun 16th, 2008 Breakbeat, Downtempo, Hip-Hop steve 1 min read

It gives me great pleasure to be back posting after a hectic month of work. Expect much more regular content moving forward, starting with today’s post from Los Angeles DJ/Producer Presto. His early 12″ instrumentals were a staple of my older downtempo and hip-hop sets, so it’s fantastic to be able to bring you word about his new full-length record, State of the Art, an…

Human Bell

May 22nd, 2008 Folk/Acoustic, Indie, Instrumental, Post-Rock, Rock steve 1 min read

Introspective track today I guess. Just heard word that our friends Adam and Amy had a baby a few days ago and my old friends Pete and Tracy should be bringing their first into the world any minute now. All this new life, these literal positive changes in the fortunes of parents and their children seems well-suited for Human Bell’s “A Change in Fortunes.” What…

Fleetwood Mac (Cut Copy Lifelike Remix)

May 14th, 2008 Classic Rock, DJ Weapons, Indie, Remixes steve 1 min read

My younger co-worker said something recently that caused quite a stir in the office. “John Hughes is totally overrated” or something similar to that. The more seasoned of us — nearly 10 years her senior — couldn’t believe the sentiment. No neophyte directors since have been able to come close to Hughes’ teen-oriented melodramatic comedy and while some of his films are better than others,…