Audio Absinthe - Music » Originals

People Under The Stairs – Carried Away and Remix Contest

Spencer — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:10:48 +0000

People Under the Stairs released their 7th album, Carried Away, on Om Records earlier this month. The Los Angeles duo are known for creating west coast style party hip hop with distinctively chill, sample heavy beats. The sound of the new album is just as fun and cool as PUTS has ever been. Tracks like “80 Blocks from Silverlake” and “Come On, Let’s Get High” are instant PUTS classics. These guys really know how to get head bobbing.

MP3: People Under the Stairs – “80 Blocks from Silverlake” (Download) [See post to listen to audio]

Carried Away (October 2009)

Their sense of humor really comes through in their music and especially in the video for the single, “Trippin’ at the Disco.” According to Thes One, Double K paid $654 “to have award winning Afro Stylist Cheryll Teegans do his hair for the video.” Check it out here:

MP3: People Under the Stairs – “Trippin at the Disco” (Download) [See post to listen to audio]

Carried Away (October 2009)

In an effort to promote Carried Away, People Under the Stairs have teamed up with Vans to hold a remix contest for the track “Hit The Top.” The contest ends November 10th and the winner gets a pretty cool care package. You can enter your email below to get the acapella, create your own remix, and then upload it to SoundCloud.com/PeopleUnderTheStairs. Check out some of the entries below…

People Under the Stairs – ‘Hit The Top’ (Milky Williams Remix) by peopleunderthestairs

People Under the Stairs – Hit the Top (Jazzual Suspects Remix) by peopleunderthestairs

Epic Nightscapes

Spencer — Sat, 02 May 2009 08:56:37 +0000

There are a lot of cool ways to share music with your friends. I used to make a lot of mixes and I still have a lot of my old playlists. The iLike Playlist Editor let’s you make and share your playlists with anyone. You can send a link for your playlist to your friends or you can put your playlist on any website page like facebook and myspace or like I did below. Unfortunately, you can only choose up to 8 tracks and you can only play 30 second samples of each song. But it is a fun way to share mixes you’ve made. The one I did below is 6 tracks from an old mix I used to fall asleep to, Epic Nightscapes.

Add a playlist to your page using iLike

MP3: Billy Cobham – Heather

Femi VS KCRW Soundclash

Spencer — Sat, 02 May 2009 04:20:05 +0000

Back in February, an exclusive KCRW Femi Kuti remix album was released. Femi VS KCRW Soundclash features remixes from a bunch of the KCRW DJs. Some of them are really great. If you didn’t already know, Femi Kuti is the son of the late Afro-beat legend Fela Kuti. Check out Jeremy Sole‘s remix of “Tell Me” which he posted on SoundCloud and Liza Richardson‘s remix of “Eh Oh” below…

Femi Kuti – Tell Me (Jeremy Sole’s Musaics Remix feat. Ticklah)

Femi Kuti – Eh Oh (Liza Richardson remix) MP3: Femi Kuti – Tell Me

Recycling Absinthe (Pt 3) – Suadade Vem Correndo

Spencer — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 09:11:24 +0000

James Yancey a.k.a. Jay Dee a.k.a. J Dilla produced 3 of my favorite hip hop albums- De La Soul’s Stakes Is High, Slum Village’s Fantastic Volume II, and Pharcyde’s Labcabincalifornia. He passed away just a couple of years ago, but he was one of the best. Too many people hadn’t heard of him until after he died. Some of his music was sample-free, while some of it was masterfully crafted with samples. One of Dilla’s most recognized tracks is “Runnin’” on Labcab. Dilla built the track around samples he masterfully took from Stan Getz and Luiz Bonfa’s “Suadade Vem Correndo” originally released in 1963. The original is classic Stan Getz and the way Dilla uses it is just genius. Stan Getz & Luiz Bonfa – Suadade Vem Correndo Pharcyde – Runnin’ Visionnaires – Runnin’ Pharcyde – Runnin’ (Philippians Remix)

Recycling Absinthe (Pt 2) – Do That Stuff

Spencer — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 09:30:08 +0000

Royksopp’s “Happy Up Here” is the first single leaked from the Norwegian duo’s upcoming album, Junior, which will be released on March 16, 2009. The single samples an old favorite of mine- Parliament’s “Do That Stuff”- which was originally released back in 1976 on The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein. The drum break intro is an incredibly crisp and desirable break beat, but Royksopp only uses the funky keys from the song and layers their own drums, claps, and other electronica sounds over the restructured loop. Personally, I don’t think “Happy Up Here” is all that special but after you listen to both you definitely get a sense of appreciation for the new sound/feel Roykopp creates out of the old funk classic.

Parliament – Do That Stuff Royksopp – Happy Up Here And, of course, since “Happy Up Here” is a new single, the remix fest has already begun… Datasette Remix / Boys Noize Remix / Mr Vega Remix / Breakbot Remix

Recycling Absinthe (Pt 1) – “Straight To Hell”

Spencer — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 09:14:18 +0000

The MIA song “Paper Planes” was a huge hit last year after Pineapple Express introduced the song to a very large audience. The song just took off- it was all over TV, the radio, and the blogosphere. You couldn’t go into a bar or a club without hearing “Paper Planes”, or at least a remix, or one right after the other. But most of the people who were really into the song didn’t realize that the beat was pretty much just a looped sample from The Clash song, “Straight To Hell”. A lot of people don’t like when artists sample earlier songs but I think it’s incredibly creative and takes a lot of talent to pull it off. Both of these songs are great. Listen to both and tell me what you think. I also threw in a Lily Allen cover of “Straight To Hell” and the Pale Young Gentlemen cover of “Paper Planes” just for fun.

The Clash – Straight To Hell MIA – Paper Planes Lily Allen – Straight To Hell Pale Young Gentlemen – Paper Planes

Weekly Dose (1/31/09)

Spencer — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 07:28:46 +0000

First song is “Don’t Want To Know” by the John Martyn who passed away this last Thursday. In memory, Jason Bentley played “Don’t Want To Know” on KCRW Thursday morning and that was my introduction to the song. I couldn’t find a link to any MP3 of the song, so here is the song in it’s entirety on YouTube:

And here’s a cool MP3 I came across while I was searching for the first track- John Martyn covering Portishead’s “Glory Box” John Martyn - Glory Box

Second song was shown to me by Oscar who had this to say about it: Asa (pronounced “Asha”) is a Paris born Nigerian who can de described as a female Wyclef Jean, minus the entourage of celebrities. What separates her from the pack of many in her reggae/soul/jazz genre is the fact that she writes and performs damn good songs! Blips of Afro-Beat blended with rustic guitar sounds and a jazzy finger snap rhythm- you just can’t go wrong. One track in particular getting some attention is a song called “Jailer”, check out the song and video below. Since the release of the track, it has sparked some serious attention in her native Nigeria and has earned her the opportunity to open for Akon, John Legend, Beyonce and even Snoop. Believe it or not MTV South Africa has made her the “ambassador” for the music network (whatever that means?). Let’s just assume she is the face of Nigerian music right now and, from America, might be the best kept music secret in Africa. -Oscar M- Asa - Jailer | Subway

Click here to see the music video for Jailer

Third song is Emiliana Torrini’s “Me and Armini” which was released as the title track of her September 2008 album. To be perfectly honest though, I don’t know much about Torrini, the album, or any other songs of hers. I’m going to check that out and then maybe I’ll update this…

Emiliana Torrini - Me and Armini Fourth song is “Walking on a Dream” by Empire of the Sun. The song was actually leaked in June or July of last year but wasn’t officially available until August of ‘08. And it’s great but the pictures (and music video) of the Australian duo that is Empire, Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore, are pretty weird and a little creepy (see below). It’s like dark child fantasy weird, like Pan’s Labrynth characters or The Labrynth, especially since the main guy sports David Bowie style creepy makeup and some crazy looking gear. Sorry, I kind of get thrown off and distracted by that kind of stuff, but at least the song is good. Empire of the Sun - Walking on a Dream

From The Post Punk Archives

Scott S — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 10:41:09 +0000

- Posted by Scott S -

Today it seems many of us are quick to catch on to anything with an old sound. This is the natural proclivity for nostalgia that the human ear contains and it’s great. But it seems like every other act that comes out is doing their best to sound like a 70’s postpunk band. It’s a trend and it will pass and the emulations will pointed in another direction, but while the current climate of rock music is on the subject, take a second and check out some of these actual post punk bands/songs. (for those who may not know, Post Punk was the era of music that came after Punk and just before New Wave, Post Punk embodies many traits from both genres)

- Venus by Television (Go here to play the song in it’s entirety - Click here to view album in iTunes) Featured as the second cut off Television’s 1977 debut album Marquee Moon. Tom Verlaines wonderfully awkward vocal style is enough to make any hipster put down their Clap Your Hands Say Yeah CD and pickup Marquee Moon. Venus contains all the essential elements of post punk: Punk rock roots using driving guitars, but new wave pop sensibilities. Venus is simply one track off Marquee Moon worth hearing. The whole record is great.

Shot By Both Sides by Magazine Formed by ex-buzzcocks co-founder Howard Devoto, Magazine only existed for three years but put out some phenomenal material in this time. Appearing on Magazine’s 1978 debut album Real Life, Shot By Both Sides is a borderline surf rock tune. The guitar lines hark back to Dick Dale but the music is post punk at its finest. As a manchester band, Magazine was perfectly in keeping with the scene. They can at times sound like Joy Division but slightly lighter. Magazine remain one of the best kept secrets of the Manchester movement (see the film 24 Hour Party People), however having been covered by the likes of Radiohead and Morrissey, Magazine’s fusion of avant garde pop, punk, and new wave has not gone unnoticed.

Black and White Town by Doves While not a traditional post punk band, Doves hails from the 80’s manchester scene which makes them good enough candidates. Formed in 1985 Doves started as a punkinfluenced, New Wave Dance band. However in 1995 they disbanded. Luckily 1998 saw Doves reborn as a new band. Maintaining the same lineup throughout their career, Doves released Some Cities in 2005 to widely praised critical acclaim. The first single was Black and White town. Mixing a driving 60’s piano hook with punk rock guitars, and a catchy melody, Doves melds all sorts of styles on Some Cities, and more than once brings punk and new wave together in the tradition of Post Punk. Most definitely a record worth checking out.

Chuck’s Corner (1/17/09)

Charles K — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 23:34:06 +0000

PRESENCE - A GREAT, FORGOTTEN ROCK ALBUM

by Charles K

Led Zeppelin… who hasn’t heard of these guys, right? Well if you haven’t then its time to get your ass out from under the rock you’ve been living under and prepare yourselves to be blown away. The gods of rock got it right when they handed Robert plant a microphone, Jimmy Page a beat up Les Paul guitar that sounds as if only heaven could have made it- with screeching licks that create a feeling of joy that come from deep within. John Paul Jones is the essential glue holding it all together, playing a neat bass constantly in the pocket, which is no easy task when trying to stay lock and step with wild man John “Bonzo” Bonham on drums whose playing is so crazy he should be locked up with the key tossed for being so damn good.

Now why start with a band like Led Zeppelin? While there are so many great bands to choose from, I found myself listening this past week to an easily overlooked, raw and back to basics record entitled Presence or as I call it- the forgotten Led Zeppelin 7. It was released in 1976 as the groups 7^th studio album following the release of the brilliant double album a year earlier Physical Graffiti which was a big hit yielding the popular track “Kashmir” which sadly most people these days probably recognize as song by P. Diddy for the Godzilla Soundtrack- a “masterpiece” easy to be forgotten. The album is a short but sweet one lasting only seven tracks, which by today’s standards would never fly. Back in the old days the music business stood for the artists they represented and it was quality over quantity. Yet still today what makes this a special record is that on the surface the music played is stripped down not layered with multiple guitars and pianos, synthesizers horns etc. This record wasn’t about making hits. All you have is four guys jamming and playing their asses off to make the music they love and music that bleeds through the speakers wherever you blast it. Although it was not recognized as one of their best records to date for the simple reason it produced no significant hits by the likes of “Black Dog” or “Whole Lotta Love” standards, it should be held in high regard nonetheless. A personal favorite track is “Hots On For Nowhere”. It’s not what your used to with these guys. It threw me off at first listen by being very funky for a band that seems naturally rooted in so much blues with a heavy sound. This track is playful, fun and, at the end of the day, something you can really wrap your arms around and say, “Yes, I love you too”. Overall the best way to gage a vibe of an artist’s record is whether you can listen to an album 10 times from start to finish and if on the 11^th try it still sounds as good, if not better, well then you got a keeper in your stash. This will be one of those albums you will fall in love with from start to finish. Don’t forget no skipping tracks. I tell you, let the damn thing play…. Now go enjoy and proceed without caution.

You can sample “Hots On For Nowhere” and all of the tracks on Presence by clicking here.

After 40 Years – Still “Beggin’”

Spencer — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 16:20:09 +0000

A Digital Timeline…

The Four Seasons song “Beggin’” was released in 1967 on their album New Gold Hits.

Four Seasons – Beggin’

Shocking Blue covered “Beggin’” and released their version on Good Times in 1974.

Shocking Blue – Beggin’

And 40 years after the song was originally released- Madcon, a Norwegian hip hop duo, released their own version of “Beggin’” in 2007. But the song was only released 3 weeks ago on iTunes in the US. It’s been a hit in Europe for a while now which is probably why Adidas is using the song in a new commercial. A couple of tracks from the duo’s upcoming album, An InCONvenient Truth, have been leaked on the internet. From what I’ve heard, sounds like that album is definitely worth checking out. They’re pretty similar sounding to the Black Eyed Peas so if there’s a good push in the US, the album would definitely have a chance of doing pretty well. Then again, of course, you never know…

Madcon – Beggin’