@jneirojarel @muthawit

Check out this collab between producer Jneiro Jarel and DOOM (aka MF DOOM and Madvillan) and load up on some off-the-wall, left-of-center hip hop.  Bonus: The album features Beth Gibbons (Portishead), Khujo Goodie (Goodie Mob), Damon Albarn (Blur and Gorillaz), and longtime friend of the fam, Boston Fielder!

Also cool: UK fam may have already seen that this album has been shortlisted for Album of the Year for the 2012 Mercury Prize.

Here’s the tracklist:

JJ DOOM ‘KEY TO THE KUFFS’

1. WATERLOGGED
2. GUV’NOR
3. BANISHED
4. BITE THE THONG ft Damon Albarn
5. RHYMIN SLANG
6. DAWG FRIENDLY
7. BORIN CONVO
8. SNATCH THAT DOUGH
9. GMO ft Beth Gibbons
10. BOUT THE SHOES ft Boston Fielder
11. WINTER BLUES
12. STILL KAPS ft Khujo Goodie
13. RETARDED FREN
14. VIBERIAN SUN PART II
15. WASH YOUR HANDS

Jneiro Jarel (l) and MF Doom

Additional links:

• JJ DOOM
• Boston Fielder aka MuthWit on FB
• Jneiro Jarel official
• MF DOOM

Last week saw the release of Fela: Live In Detroit 1986.  In some ways, it’s what you would expect from a Fela album: propulsive, politically charged Afrobeat that stretch into extended stompdowns.  In fact, the three CDs only contain four (4) songs!

The album was recorded live at Detroit’s Fox Theater and marked a triumphant return for Fela and his band Egypt 80. He’d spent two years in a Nigerian jail on trumped up charges of “currency trafficking”.  Amnesty International waged a campaign that finally saw him freed in April of 1986, and he was performing in Detroit as part of the human rights organization’s Conspiracy of Hope tour two months later.

From the press release:

The Detroit concert was part of Fela’s debut US tour with his Egypt 80 band and the recording finds them on strident form, showcasing all-new material in free-flowing extended workouts: “Just Like That” recalls Fela’s memories of the Nigerian Civil War; “Confusion Break Bones” (an update of his earlier track, “Confusion”), compares the present African situation to a permanent traffic jam at a town center crossroads; “Teacher Don’t Teach Me Nonsense” swipes at the oyinbos (white men) forcing sham versions of democracy on Africa and allowing “democratic” rulers to line their own pockets at the expense of the people while foreign-owned multi-nationals are allowed to freely strip the continent of its natural resources; “Beasts Of No Nation” reflects on Fela’s recent court case and imprisonment in Nigeria and, more widely, on the issues around Apartheid. The messages here resonate as powerfully as anything from Fela’s career.

Bob Teagan, the audio engineer who recorded the album, recalls the show: “Coming into the Fox Theater, Fela was well aware that it was the same venue that birthed the careers of Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and it was the epicenter of Motown. These were all profound influences on Fela and he did those artists justice with his performance, dancing all across the massive stage and inciting the crowd to move with him.”

Additional link:

• Get Fela: Live In Detroit 1986 on iTunes

No album artwork or track listing yet, but here’s some of what he told Billboard:

Kravitz started recording “Black and White America” — which is due out this summer — during mid-2009 in the Bahamas. He produced and played most of the instruments, bringing in his regular guitarist Craig Ross and a horn section that includes New Orleans’ Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews on trombone and trumpet. A release date and first single are still being determined.

Kravitz describes the 12-song set as “very up — probably the most up album I’ve done. It’s really well-rounded as far as where my influences come from, why I love music and what I grew up listening to. This one really runs the spectrum from rock to funk to pop to R&B to jazz to blues…it’s really raw.” Kravitz says it also makes greater use of synthesizers than he has in the past, tapping into a collection of vintage instruments that he’s collected over the years.

This year marks the 20th anniversary (hard to believe) of his second album, Mama Said.

Check out the first single from Tricky’s forthcoming album, Mixed Race, due in October.  Shout out to ihearditon for the heads up.  The single reworks a classic dancehall track from Echo Minott.  According to XLR8R, the single will be available on August 30.

Yes, you read that right.  The Family Stand–Peter Lord, Sandra St. Victor, and V. Jeffrey Smith–will release their fifth studio album officially on September 7. [It's actually available NOW!] This one’s kinda special because they’ve agreed to release it in conjunction with Boldaslove.us!

Here’s what we’re gonna do: The album will be available exclusively via Bandcamp.  We’re going to do a modified Radiohead-style release.  That is, you can pay what you want for the album, as long as it meets the $5 minimum payment.  The Family Stand and I agreed on this pricing setup because, after all, it costs money to make the music.  They should make something from their music, so that they can continue to make music.  Seems pretty straightforward to me.

The other cool thing is that $1 from every download will be donated to The Prevent Cancer Foundation, a non-profit whose work the group feels strongly about.

If you want to bookmark the link (or share it with friends), the album will be available at http://thefamilystand.bandcamp.com.  You can stream it here, too.  Kind of a try before you buy situation.  But, really, what’s to try?  It’s The Family Stand, yo!

Tracklisting

1. In A Thousand Years
2. Bang Bang
3. Shut Up
4. How I Got Over
5. Story
6. Definition
7. So Happy Together
8. Bou’ree in E Minor
9. He Loves Me
10. Destination
11. Never Say
12. This Too Will Pass
13. The Last Time We’re Here

You can also hear the title track by clicking below:

Additional link:

• The Family Stand official site

Really excited to be co-promoting this event with Ubiquita Worldwide. Tamar-Kali's new album Black Bottom will be released on Tuesday, July 13 and it. Is. Straight. Fire. 

Now, are you from Missouri? Then grab the stream and hear for yourself.  Then, mark your calendars for Friday, July 16 at Littlefield. $20 gets you into the show AND a copy of the album.  Plus, The Cool and Deadly will get us open with their signature punk rock and reggae sounds.  And, if that ain't enought, there'll be a special performance by Brown Girls Burlesque.  Remember them?

Tamar-kali Record Release Party

Friday, July 16 @ Littlefield

622 Degraw bet 3rd/4th Avenues

Brooklyn 11217

Doors at 8pm, show festivities start at 9pm.

Additional link:

• Hear "Pearl" from the album Black Bottom
• Official Tamar-kali site
• Stream the album now and become a believer

Really excited to be co-promoting this event with Ubiquita Worldwide. Tamar-Kali's new album Black Bottom will be released on Tuesday, July 13 and it. Is. Straight. Fire. 

Now, are you from Missouri? Then grab the stream and hear for yourself.  Then, mark your calendars for Friday, July 16 at Littlefield. $20 gets you into the show AND a copy of the album.  Plus, The Cool and Deadly will get us open with their signature punk rock and reggae sounds.  And, if that ain't enought, there'll be a special performance by Brown Girls Burlesque.  Remember them?

Tamar-kali Record Release Party

Friday, July 16 @ Littlefield

622 Degraw bet 3rd/4th Avenues

Brooklyn 11217

Additional link:

• Hear "Pearl" from the album Black Bottom
• Official Tamar-kali site
• Stream the album now and become a believer

Say you're like me and can't get enough of BLK JKS. You already have the Mystery EP and you're wearing out After Robots, with its songs like "Summertime" and "Molalatladi".  Believe me, I understand.  There's no wonder After Robots made the Boldaslove.us Best of 2009 list: It's a great album.

Good news is there's more.  Here's what their label, Secretly Canadian, wrote about Zol!:

As the entire planet catches futbol fever and turns to South Africa for the World Cup, we'll let you in on a secret! The moment's unofficial anthem — the song young dudes in Soweto sing on the way to local matches — is not something imported or manufactured for touristic consumption. It has lived there, waiting for the world to turn its ears to South Africa, just now. Secretly Canadian is stoked to present you with ZOL!, the new BLK JKS EP just in time for The World Cup.
 
After a worldwide blowup in 2009 BLK JKS is back home in Johannesburg, gigging steadily and gearing up for the performance at the opening celebration for the world's biggest sporting event taking place in their backyard: The World Cup. This is the sort of moment for which BLK JKS was built. ZOL! captures BLK JKS in this moment.
 
The title track of the EP is a grassroots street anthem filtered through BLK JKS' unmistakable and ever expanding sound. With a crazy head-bobbing kwaito beat and bassline, as lyrical guitar work takes the party higher, "ZOL!" finds BLK JKS hosting a house party for the planet. Percussionist Tshepang Ramoba takes the lead on vocals here as the guys back him up with call-and-response and polyrhythmic claps, raucously proclaiming "I can roll and shoot at the same time."
 
"Mzabalazo (demo)" is an update of 1980s antiapartheid street protest chant that BLK JKS takes to a new place before flipping it on its head, introducing heavily distorted guitars and rock drumming. By contrast the spacious yet intimate landscape of "Bogobe" is set sharply against the prog impulse of "Paradise," a song that has stood out at live shows as the band made their way around the world in support of their full length debut "After Robots"–a record described as "probably the most important South African album to have appeared in the past 20 years" and is currently nominated for two South African Music Awards (SAMA) for 'Best Album of the Year' and 'Best Alternative Album, English.' For as dynamic as a collection as we might expect from a BLK JKS project, the ZOL! EP also serves as a much more succinct statement from a band settling in to their own skin.

Tracklisting:

IIETYS
BOGOBE
ZOL!
PARADISE
MZABALAZO (Demo) 

Take a listen to the futbol anthem Zol!

And feel free to stream the entire EP via the KCRW site

Additional links:

• NY Times previews the EP
• BLK JKS official site

So, tomorrow's the day when you can pick up the new Janelle Monae album, The ArchAndroid (arc, as in "archangel"), which delivers parts II and III of the Chase Suite.  I swear, it feels like homegirl has been working Metropolis for close to three years! 

I'll have a full review tomorrow, but I think you'll find that it was worth the wait.  It's 18 tracks that build on the themes from Metropolis without relying too heavily on them.  Nice, too, is that she keeps the guests to a minimum, featuring only Saul Williams, Outkast's Big Boi (natch!), indie pop/rock band Of Montreal and Wondaland labelmates Deep Cotton.

In the meantime, here's the track listing:

1. Suite II Overture   
2. Dance Or Die (feat. Saul Williams)     
3. Faster     
4. Locked Inside     
5. Sir Greendown     
6. Cold War     
7. Tightrope (feat. Big Boi)     
8. Neon Gumbo     
9. Oh Maker     
10. Come Alive (The War of the Roses)     
11. Mushrooms and Roses     
12. Suite III Overture     
13. Neon Valley Street     
14. Make the Bus (feat. Of Montreal)     
15. Wondaland     
16. 57821 (feat. Deep Cotton)     
17. Say You'll Go     
18. BabopbyeYa

Also, happy to see that Diddy was smart enough not to eff around with this project and try to make her into something she's not.  I also think there's a whole case study in the wings on how she and the Wondaland Arts team have built her career and profile since '07.  More on that later.

Stay tuned.

In a few months, it'll be time for the 5th URB Alt Festival.  While Boston Fielder hasn't unveiled the lineup for this milestone event, he has released the second URB Alt Music Sampler, as he calls it, "more genre-bending sounds from around the globe."  The compilation collects songs by various eclectic artists including Gil Scott-Heron, Grizzly Bear, MuthaWit, Meshell Ndegeocello, Toro y Moi, No Bra, BLK JKS, Free Moral Agents, and Leila Adu among many others.   From the press release:

URB ALT founder Boston Fielder says, “Critics suggest that pop music is pointless while avant garde music is aimless.  When a soul legend like Gil Scott-Heron covers MS Delta bluesman Robert Johnson’s “Me And The Devil” and plays back alongside rising young creators from Germany, London, South Africa and Brooklyn the vibration is hella expansive.  I’d like to think that the 18 exciting artists on URB ALT Sampler – Dos agree that nothing is more paradigm changing than great pop and nothing insures popular longevity than heartfelt experimentation."

URB ALT Sampler-Dos is available for free as an album-only digital download at the URB ALT site (www.urbalt.ning.com), Amazon.com and ITunes. 

Tracklist:

1. MuthaWit – Give It To Me
2. Divisible – Calm, Collected
3. Gil Scott-Heron – Me And The Devil
4. Leila Adu – Train
5. Grizzly Bear – Cheerleader
6. Free Moral Agents – Aravand(live at the prospector, LBC)
7. California King – Whiskey Glass
8. No Bra – Noise Pollution
9. Ezekiel Jiminez – Wee Wee Wata Knot Belly 5
10. Paris Suit Yourself – Brainwash
11. Meshell Ndegeocello – Lola
12. Art Terry – Future
13. The Dolldaze – The Hard Way
14. Toro y Moi – 109
15. Uninterrupted – Regret
16. BLK JKS – Lakeside
17. Fat Transfer – Now You’re Back
18. Swallowing the Seas – More Than Water

Click here to download the FREE URB Alt Sampler-Dos.