Audio Absinthe - Music » Jazz

JOSE JAMES – “Trouble”

Spencer — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 18:58:10 +0000

I loved this from the moment I first heard it. First of all, I’m a big fan of Jose James. His voice and style are matched by great production on almost all of his tracks. This time, James produces a rich, full jazz sound himself. What grabbed my attention right off the bat- the “If You Want Me To Stay” bass line. Love this track…

Trouble (Single) (Jose James, Oct 2011)

THUNDERCAT – The Golden Age of Apocalypse

Spencer — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 01:38:49 +0000

Thundercat is a bass player from Mars. Listen to his debut album, The Golden Age of Apocalypse for proof. The experimental album is equal parts jazz, electronic, funk, electro-soul, and all sorts of styles and genres that are cooler than whatever else you’re listening to. It’s a very intriguing combination of Flying Lotus, who produces several tracks and Jaco Pastorius, who I can’t help but believe played an immensely significant role in the influence of Thundercat’s sound. If that seems interesting, just wait until you actually hear the album.

The Golden Age of Apocalypse (Brainfeeder, August 2011)

BLACK DUB – “I Believe In You”

Spencer — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 06:22:25 +0000

Black Dub (Jive, November 2010)

José James – Blackmagic

Spencer — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 03:00:19 +0000

The smooth and stylish José James is back with his sophomore release, Blackmagic. He’s been called a jazz singer for the hip hop generation which is particularly fitting for his collaborations with Flying Lotus who produced several songs on the new album. Blackmagic was released on February 1st. MP3: José James – “Blackmagic (Produced by Flying Lotus)” [See post to listen to audio] Blackmagic (Brownswood, February 2010)

AM – Future Sons and Daughters

Spencer — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 19:57:36 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, I saw A M at the Hotel Cafe and it was an awesome show. His music reaches across a number of genres from psychedelic rock and folk to soul and classic rock, even jazz. AM’s new album, Future Sons & Daughters, draws on an eclectic variety of musical influences to create a blend of 60′s rock with well arranged, folk-rock pop music. It’s easy to hear the influence of past artists such as David Axelrod and Jorge Ben which produces a result somewhere between more modern influences such as Beck and Shawn Lee. Some of the songs have parts that really remind me of Clutchy Hopkins and Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra. The wide ranging influences and the seamless blending of so many genres makes it hard to categorize as any one kind, but is entirely AM’s own, unique brand of music. Future Sons & Daughters is something special for serious music enthusiasts and casual listeners alike. And definitely make sure you check out the live show if you get a chance too.

MP3: AM – “Grand Opinion” Future Sons & Daughters (August 2009)

Sample more songs from FS&D: The Other Side Jorge Ben Darker Days

Favorites from 2009 (so far)

Spencer — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 18:41:31 +0000

It took me a while but I finally got around to posting them all. In no particular order, here are my favorites from 2009, so far…

Phoenix MP3: “1901” MP3: “Lisztomania”

Dan Auerbach MP3: “When The Night Comes”

Grizzly Bear MP3: “Two Weeks”

Wilco MP3: “Solitaire” MP3: “One Wing” MP3: “I’ll Fight”

Quantic and His Combo Barbaro Amazon: “The Dreaming Mind”

Andrew Bird MP3: “Oh No”

Franz Ferdinand MP3: “No You Girls”

Doves MP3: “Jetstream” MP3: “Kingdom of Rust”

Yeah Yeah Yeahs MP3: “Hysteric”

Black Crowes MP3: “I Ain’t Hiding”

White Rabbits MP3: “Percussion Gun”

K’naan MP3: “Take A Minute”

Manchester Orchestra MP3: “I’ve Got Friends”

Mocky MP3: “Birds Of A Feather”

Kutiman http://thru-you.com/

Black Moth Super Rainbow MP3: “Born On A Day The Sun Didn’t Rise” MP3: “Twin Of Myself” MP3: “Fields Are Breathing”

Animal Collective MP3: “My Girls”

Matt and Kim MP3: “Daylight”

Silversun Pickups MP3: “Panic Switch”

Curumin MP3: “Compacto” MP3: “Salto No Vacuo Con Joelhada”

Emiliani Torrini MP3: “Me and Armini”

Zion I MP3: “Coastin”

Junior Boys MP3: “Parallel Lines”

General Elektriks MP3: “You Don’t Listen”

St Vincent MP3: “Strangers”

Coconut Records MP3: “Any Fun”

Matisyahu “One Day”

Method Man and Redman MP3: “A Yo”

Tosca MP3 Link: “Joe Si Ha” MP3: “Fondue”

The BPA MP3: “Toe Jam” MP3: “He’s Frank”

Bishop Allen MP3: “The Ancient Commonsense of Things”

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Newer acts:

Band of Skulls MP3 Link: “Death By Diamonds and Pearls” MP3: “I Know What I Am”

Empire of the Sun MP3: “Walking On A Dream”

One eskimO Link to listen: “Given Up” MP3: “Givin Up (Don Diablo remix)”

Nickel Eye MP3: “Brandy of the Damned featuring Wale (Mark Ronson remix)” MySpace link to listen: “Bonnie and Clyde”

Mayer Hawthorne MP3: “Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out”

Zee Avi MP3: “Bitter Heart” MP3: “The Story”

Passion Pit MP3: “Moth’s Wings” MP3 link: “The Reeling” MP3: “Little Secrets”

Fight From Above MP3: “Between The Curves”

Vosotros Presents: The Years MP3 link: “Lose My Number” MP3 link: “Heartbreaker”

Daniel Merriweather MP3: “Change” featuring Wale

The Big Pink MP3: “Velvet”

The Temper Trap MP3: Sweet Disposition

Thenewno2 MP3 link: “Yomp” MP3 link: “Give You Love” MP3: “Crazy Tuesday”

Asa MP3: “Jailer” MP3: “Subway”

The Very Best MP3: “Warm Heart of Africa”

St Motel MP3: “Dear Dictator”

Danny Chaimson MySpace link to listen: “This Is Life”

Hey Champ MP3: “Cold Dust Girl”

Jaydiohead by Minty Fresh Productions MP3: “Wrong Prayer”

Asher Roth feat. Busta Rhymes and New Kingdom MP3: “Lion’s Roar” produced by Oren Yoel

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Mixtapes:

Wale & 9th Wonder - Back To The Feature

TiRon – Ketchup Miguel featuring TiRon – “Go”

Quantic and His Combo Bárbaro

Spencer — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:40:50 +0000

There are only a handful of albums I have ever really anticipated like Quantic‘s upcoming album, Tradition In Transition, due July 14th. This album could be truly amazing. ”The Dreaming Mind” is the song in the video teaser for the album below and it’s featured on Quantic’s myspace page as well. It might be one of my all time favorites. Between the string arrangements and the funky percussion, it’s a cinematic-style masterpiece that just kills me. If I like half of the songs on the album as much as I like “The Dreaming Mind” I might find the answer to the “if you were on an island and could only have one album” question.

Bonus MP3: Quantic and His Combo Bárbaro – New Morning Bonus MP3: Quantic and His Combo Bárbaro – Arianita

So many more- Covers, Remixes, and Mash Ups

Spencer — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 02:11:24 +0000

Everyone loves covers, remixes, and mash ups. Here are some of my recent favorites and some I just haven’t posted until now…

MP3: Radiohead VS Dave Brubeck – Five Step
MP3: Kings of Leon – Use Somebody (RAC Remix)
MP3: Franz Ferdinand – No You Girls (Trentmoller Remix)
MP3: Phoenix – 1901 (Build Remix)
MP3: Daft Punk VS Does It Offend You, Yeah – We Are Technologic (LightsoverLA mash up)
MP3: Major Lazer – Hold The Line (LehtMoJoe Remix)
MP3: Slum Village – Fall In Love (Remix)
MP3 Link: Cara Robinson – California Soul (acoustic -Marlena Shaw cover)
MP3: Camp Lo – Coolie High (Remix) – (got this from djnodj.com, Michael Jackson sample was never cleared so it may be the first you’re hearing this)

Daniel Merriweather – Change (Gigamesh Remix)

Jose James – the SoulCulture interview

Spencer — Sat, 23 May 2009 18:33:38 +0000

SoulCulture in the UK recently interviewed jazz, neo-soul singer Jose James. SoulCulture is a great place to find more news, interviews, and videos like this one. Check out the video below and more at SoulCulture.co.uk. In the interview below, Jose James shares his thoughts on today’s music and reveals some details about his upcoming album. I especially enjoy hearing that he’s working with Flying Lotus again. I didn’t know who Jose James was early in 2008 when I saw that he had covered Freestyle Fellowship’s “Park Bench People”. The song is creative but complicated- it’s not for everyone. Performing the song requires an incredible sense of timing and rhythm. Jose James nailed it. The song was featured on James’ debut album, The Dreamer, which also had a bunch of other impressive tracks that instantly turned me into a fan. The new album is something you’ll definitely want to check out.

MP3: Jose James – Visions of Violet (Produced by Flying Lotus) MP3: Jose James – Park Bench People

Jose James – Love

Beat Juice

Spencer — Wed, 13 May 2009 06:18:02 +0000

Here’s another pretty awesome music website that let’s you create playlists you can share with you friends. It’s called GrooveShark.com and it’s got a pretty big library of music. It allows you to upload your own songs so you can login from anywhere in the world and have all of your music. It also allows you to search for and play full songs and albums. The way this works reminds me very much of Napster (the original Napster) since it seems like the search results are based on what people have uploaded. This is probably why GrooveShark has a very respectable library of music to find. There were a bunch of songs I wanted to add to the playlist below that I couldn’t find in their library but it’s still got much more than I expected. The site also has a great custom widget builder that allows you to embed songs and playlists on any website. The one I made below is a poor example because I’m colorblind so you can’t really see how fancy you can make it look. The playlist is based on a mix I made a couple of years ago called Beat Juice.

I really had this Pete Rock track on the mix instead of the one included above but GrooveShark didn’t have it. And it’s too good not to link here… MP3: Pete Rock – Pete’s Jazz

Copy and paste this into your browser if the link above isn’t working: http://www.flexx.org/blog/pete%20rock%20-%20pete’s%20jazz.mp3