freelance whales is a fun band to listen to. period.  just take into account their previous effort, weathervanes (2009). on that album they collectively managed to craft euphoric and  giddy music replete with thought-provoking songs that took it easy on our collective ears and hearts. and while melancholy does exist too in the freelance whales universe, it is isn’t something of which the band dwells on. now, almost 3-years later the band’s 2012 sophomore offering diluvia materializes, and we get to experience the fun all over again. but it is a bit more than “more of the same.” present still  is the above excellent song-writing and those sonic compositions which vacillate between the rife and rich swaths of wide open space grandeur to those dazzling earthbound odes with sparse beautiful simplicity. this is am album with the power to, maybe not fix things, but it does offer an atmosphere in which all seems a bit less pressing and a lot more hopeful and possible.

i got my hands (read ears) on an advance copy of the album diluvia and from the first song, “aeolus” it begins with soft synths and choir-like chanting. this is tranquil easement into an album which blossoms into a deluge of pale and spiraling colors. the second, third and fourth songs, “land features,” “follow through” and “spitting image” is familiar ground. in that they closely resemble the “freelance whales sound” we fell  in love with in the first place (the synths, glockenspiel, banjo and harmonium are all still there). yet, it is a bit of a misnomer to even attempt to nail down the freelance whales sound, because it is a wide and uncharted land where the mandolin cozies up with the water phone, and synthesizers make strange bedfellows with a bamboo pipe organ.

the song, “red star” judah dadone shuts us into the dreamscape of hist wistful heart and a torn scrim of red falls down around us…, “i don’t wanna jump from this scarlet star tonight
and bend things so much I can’t remember how they were, let her nova alone breathing outwards to burn,” this is a bitter lump of coal in my throat and a sweet doleful segue into our fragile humanity as one can get.

to some it up diluvia is a fine album right down to the last song, “emergency exit“. this lp it is filled with enough good music to keep you warm and listening the whole winter through. i also want to mention how freelance whales make good and magical use of the lithe and feathery vocals of doris cellar‘s angelic voice, adding just the right amount of buoyancy to various tracks throughout. peace.

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When you surround your head space with the music of the legendary veteran producer/rapper Large Professor it’s hard not to have a good time. His music has a vibe wherein the unimportant and frivolous dissipate in the furthest recesses of your mind. Large Professor drops jewels of wisdom and profound insight like they were penny candy. Here is a man who has accomplished plenty in the Rap/Hip Hop game having worked alongside such figures as Eric B. and Rakim. And you can count such Hip Hop notables as Kool G, Kane, Slick, Busta Rhymes, and Common among his peers and proteges. And still thorough the years the man remains true to his origins. After the jump watch his “Keys To The City” video and witness classic Hip Hop at its finest. For more, check out Large Processor’s interview at HipHop DX. Peace.

For Music and Merch go to www.undergroundhiphop.com. Also available on iTunes.
 

 
Tracklisting:
 
1. Key To The City
2. UNOWHTMSAYN
3. Straight From The Golden Ft: Busta Rhymes
4. Focused Up Ft: Cormega & Tragedy Khadafi
5. Happy Days R Here Ft: Fame M.O.P.
6. Professor @ Large
7. Light Years
8. Barber Shop Chop
9. Live Again
10. Mack Don Illz Ft: Mic Geronimo & Grand Daddy IU
11. Sun, Star & Crescents
12. Kick Da Habit
13. Lp Surprise
14. Back In Time
15. M.A.R.S. Ft: Cormega, Action Bronson, Roc Marciano & Saigon

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Stasia Irons and Catherine Harris-White who comprise the duo THEESatisfaction released their non-too-shabby album awE naturalE March of this year to much avail. Yeah, there kinda’ a big deal. Yep, you might have guessed they are a couple of down sisters with a penchant for hip hop and high-tuned conscious lyrics. So it is with great pleasure that I present to you the duos video premiers of “QueenS”. And yes indeed, it’s hella’ dope. Peace.

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Shabazz Palaces protégés THEESatisfaction (Stasia Irons and Catherine Harris-White bka Cat and Stas) are the antithesis to the music industry cash cow, ala Nicki Minaj (No disrespect, just a fact). So the chances of hearing these cool and positively energetic dames on American Top 40 with Ryan Seacrest anytime soon? HA! Forget about it. And, I’m fairly certain they’re alright with not ripping Victoria Secret’s runway or culling a brutish male altar-ego too. Mainly because these young hip hop heads aren’t interested in artifice, nope not even a lil’ bit. And, you can best believe both like nothing better than to shake it up a bit and bust out pop culture and put its fickleness on front street, if you catch my drift. According to various sources, the duo met at college and discovered not a few mutual interests, ranging from classic, circa 70’s R&B to Funk and Jazz influences, an affinity for William the Shakespeare, and not surprisingly the sounds and ethos of 80’s and 90’s hip hop. Together, their sound is heavily steeped in, not only R&B and the like, but thought-provoking observations on a world not seen through rose-colored lenses. Peep the newly minted single “Queens” to understand where they’re coming from. THEESatisfaction are releasing their debut LP awE naturalE via Sub Pop on March 27th. You can also cop the free download of the single QueenS here. Peace.

“QueenS”

(Via snipelondon)

Sandra Bullocks Black Baby Boy (March 2011)

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