[ aquarius records

IMPORTANT (Please read to avoid confusion): Some items below may be tagged with a bold, red, all-caps OUT OF PRINT/UNAVAILABLE notice. This does NOT mean that all other items not so tagged are, in fact, in stock — or for that matter, in print and available, though there's a good chance they are. Some folks get confused on this point, and we can see why, so please read this for further clarification and other important before-you-order information. Unlike some mailorder websites, we don't have an electronic inventory system linked to our site, so you can't be sure of what we actually have or don't have in stock at any given moment without asking us — please email our mailorder department for availability status — or better yet, just go ahead and place your order using our shopping cart function and we'll get back to you with the status of each item. If you have general non-mailorder questions, email the store.

Showing results 151 through 200 of 1265.

CLP is probably a new name to most everybody, but the group's pedigree might ring some bells, as one half of the duo used to do time in Funkstorung. The sound of CLP has very little on common with the IDM funk of Funkstorung, instead, the sound of CLP is a wild and kick ass mix of old school hip hop, Miami bass, crunk, electro, ghetto-tech and the sounds of the Dirty South. The result musically, is kinda nuts, the ultimate dance party, and quite possibly one of the coolest, and maybe best hip hop records we've heard in forever, equal parts Missy Elliott, Timbaland, 2 Live Crew, Hyphy, and fuck knows who else. The duo used Myspace to track down obscure and unknown rappers from all over the world, primarily in the US and South Africa, which just pushes it over the top. Every track is different, but they all share some sonic similarities, beats that slip from skittery to block rockin, fuzzy basslines, blown out distorted synths, soaring strings, stuttery grooves, off kilter loops, and some hooks that kill, if this wasn't some obscure hip hop record on Shitkatapult, this would and SHOULD be all over the radio. And the rapping is all over the place too, from sultry and sinister to goofy and over the top, from robotic bark to woozy laidback druggy drawl, but it all works, perfectly. Instead of skits, there are some musical interludes, that end up sounding just as off kilter as the songs themselves. Not sure what else to say, other than hip hop record of the year. Last year? This year? Probably both...

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A highlight on here is Common's dad who offers some free-style spiritual poetry. Cool.

Not to bum out those of you in colder parts of the world, but we've been experiencing an amazing Summer-In-Winter this January. Sunny days that have had us flocking to the park and riding around with the top down (ok none of us have convertibles, but in our imaginations we're totally riding around with the top down!). So we've been yearning for some new summer-ish jams to blast as we catch the rays and soak it all up while it lasts. Common's latest was made for sunny days that feel like they're going to last forever. Uptempo hip-hop made to be played loud during BBQs and outdoor get-togethers. With guest appearances from Pharrell Williams and Kanye West, Common shows that he can let loose and have fun with the biggest names in hip-hop. While it seems like he's taken a break from some of his more mindful lyrics and expansive and risk taking sounds, he's still sounding pretty good and perfect for whenever that feeling of summertime hits you.

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Finally back in print, 'Little Johnny' is the only Company Flow record that counts. Their first, 'Funcrusher', hinted at what was to come but didn't really stand the test of time, weak beats with silly samples and an overall lightweight sound. 'Little Johhny' is ALL instrumental and features some of the best hip hop production EVER (courtesy of DEF JUX main man El-P!). All the stuff we love about Cannibal Ox records and Mr. Lif records comes down to one thing, El-P's crazy ass production. Timbaland for the backpacker set. Big stuttering beats, distorted haunted house basslines, fucked up samples and a wicked ear for arranging them all into, brutal, funky, sinister futuristic hip hop. All you who flipped over the Cannibal Ox record NEED this.

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The long awaited new Company Flow, does not disappoint, but does take an unexpected turn towards the normal. The last CF record was a crazy confusional mess of sputtering, disorienting, ultra strange nonsensical hip hop madness. On '...and Cannibal', the

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Chuck "Mistachuck" D and sometime Public Enemy cohort the formery-controversial Professor Griff team up with one Kyle Ice Jason to try and cash in on the whole rock/rap thing that's currently making cash registers hum at record stores everywhere (but here), stuff like Kid Rock and Limp Bizkit. Now, if anyone should be making a buck off the trend, Chuck D is deserving, since he pioneered it with PE's crossover touring and collaborations back in the day (Slayer on "She Watch Channel Zero", bringing the noise with Anthrax, etc.) BUT, that really doesn't matter if this record isn't that good, as people had told us. Now that we've had a chance to listen to it, well, it's certainly not the '70s Funkadelic styled funk-rock thing that we were told Chuck promised...nope, it's definitely more on the early '90s generic funkmetal tip. Er, so, if you still like Urban Dance Squad and Living Colour's harder moments, well, this isn't as good as that, but you might want to check it out. Otherwise, stay away. Chuck's stentorian voice still rules though -- too bad it's not being put to better use.

Much like the delightfully uncategorizable sample-happy recent albums from Milk Cult, Cat Five, and the like, Controller 7 (beatmaker for the Anticon East Bay hip hop crew) has made a record that mixes together such a broad range of unlikely samples, and does it so well that the result is very listenable. Kinda like DJ Shadow "lite" -- No, it's not the most challenging album in

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With all the great records of '80s pop revival we've been diggin' on so much lately (M83, Cut Copy, Hot Chip) it's about time someone did the same with that special time in hip-hop's golden age. Luckily The Cool Kids have stepped up to the plate and made a super fun record that recalls so much of what made us fall in love with hip-hop in the first place. The production and playful spirit captures the old school flavor of folks like EPMD, Eric B & Rakim, RUN-DMC and the first two LL Cool J records. It makes us remember when we would set our VCR's to record those amazing early episodes of Yo! MTV Raps. We first were exposed to The Cool Kids when they opened for M.I.A last year and while a lot of hip-hop has a hard time translating live, they were so great and full of irresistible energy and youthful charm. We love how stripped down and immediate The Bake Sale sounds. It's clever and dorky but unlike the trend of nerd-on-sleeves 'indie hip-hop' that spawned labels like Anticon and Mush this doesn't have that same kind of smarmy self-consciousness. Instead this is a record that evokes images of spraypaint, video games, colorful hoodies and youthful energy at its best!

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Ever since we caught these guys opening for M.I.A. several years ago we knew there was something special about them. Let's be honest, the state of modern hip-hop leaves a lot to be desired, but damn The Cool Kids do it so right! Infusing the influence of '80s hip-hop glory, into more modern productions, yet never sounding like a tired throwback group, these kids make beats that hit and songs that stick. When Fish Rides Bicycles finds them upping the intensity from their great debut, The Bake Sale. The album opens with such a banger and from that moment on the record keeps its energy and its focus sharp and charged. While some noncommercial hip-hop artists tend to shy away from big sick beats we love how The Cool Kids embrace those very same elements, yet it's how they incorporate them and the overall vibe of their tracks that makes them stand so far ahead of the pack. Of course the root of thier sound is the golden era of hip-hop, and we can hear awesome moments that remind us of Eric B & Rakim, Kool Moe Dee, KRS-1, and EPMD. The Cool Kids also have a great understanding of the economy of sounds. They don't clutter their tracks and they also keep things so tight, with no silly interludes or throwaway tracks. Cool guest appearances too by folks like Mayer Hawthorne, Ghostface, and Bun B only add to the potent mix. An absolute contender for hip-hop album of the year!

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SORRY. This hot Bay Area political/alt-rap group recently came out with the popular Steal This Album--here's one of their earlier, classic efforts now back in circulation after a few years of frustrating out of print-ness.

My favorite hip hop record of the year, along with Cannibal Ox's Cold Vein, is The Coup's Party Music. A lot of you heard *about* it before it ever got released, due to the cover art which depicted The Coup's Boots and Pam the Funkstress blowing up the World

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While this great Bay Area hip-hop outfit already titled their last full length Party Music, we can't think of a term that better suits what they've come up with on Pick A Bigger Weapon, their fifth full length. The Coup have perfected the mix of smart outspoken leftist politics with full servings of carefree melodies and feel good beats to help make their message go down smoother. They just want to "laugh, love, fuck and drink liquor to help the revolution come quicker." And the way they phrase their sentiments they've found a way to neither compromise their message or their sound. With tasteful elements of funk incorporated into their feel good hip-hop it's pretty impossible not to start moving and singing along. Like if Funkadelic met up with a young Prince in the heydey of hip-hop with lyrics contributed by Jello Biafra (who makes another cameo on this record). Most definitely innovative and so immediately familiar sounding at the same time.

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THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. Highly anticipated work from Bay Area rappers.

Finally reissued at the price of a single disc but with 2 previously unreleased songs and an extra disc containing a full live performance, this is Oakland hip hop duo The Coup's *brilliant*, totally essential Steal This Album. God, this 1998 record is so great. Not only is the music wonderful, like a stripped down, hip hop Parliament Funkadelic -- sometimes emotional and downtrodden, sometimes party jumpin', sometimes manic when Pam the Funkstress is scratchin', but always incredibly funky due to each track's repeating hook -- but Boots Riley's rapping just puts this album over the top. Boots is totally righteous, politically-aware/-active, advocates revolution as the way to fix our fucked up capitalist sociopolitical system (and when all else fails, a little pissing on G. Washington's grave), and conveys all this with stories (not sermons) whose lyrics are brimming with apt metaphors, sly puns, and pop culture references. For example, these lines from "The Shipment": See you can't trust a big grip and a smile And I slang rocks - but Palestinian style Now there's a rumble in the jungle never mumble though I humble Couple rappers took a tumble but my folks still want to rumble Who's pimpin' your bundle? I'm _Fly_ like Seth Brundle Even if the whole album wasn't great (which it is), it'd be worth picking up just for one song alone: arguably their masterpiece, "Me and Jesus the Pimp in a '79 Granada Last Night", which tells the tragedy of a boy whose mother prostitutes herself to support her pimp Jesus' drug habit; Jesus beats her to death and therefore when the boy grows up he shoots Jesus to death, but it's too late because Jesus' values have shaped the son into another misogynist monster. Boots' sketch of Jesus: Philosophy that he spit stuck in my memory chips And now he puttin' in a disk of Gladys Knight and the Pips Then that shit starts to skip, he said, "Somebody musta scratch it" Put the 40 to his lips and poured the contents down the hatchet Well since my adolescense, cause of his pimp lessons smack my woman in the dental just for askin' silly questions Relationship reduction to either rock the box or suction Ain't got no close potnahs, socially I cain't function From the pen he would scribe, on how to survive: "Don't be Microsoft, be Macintosh with a Hard Drive" Get this album now, sez Windy! And see more Coup lyrics at http://www.OHHLA.com/YFA_coup.html

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Oakland hiphop crew The Coup -- longtime AQ faves whose 2001 Party Music album was one of the most fun and funky "political" rap records ever -- offer up a DVD of stuff from their archives. It contains seven of The Coup's music videos from over the years, along with an interview with crucial Coup members Boots Riley and Pam The Funkstress, and a fascinating documentary film co-directed by Boots, shot on tour in South Africa! Plus "hidden stuff". This IS The Best Coup DVD Ever! It's the only Coup DVD too, of course...but though they're joking with the title it is a swell item for Coup fans or anyone who wants to learn more about their radical rap politics. (Note: the back cover seems to indicate that this material is spread over two dvds, but it's all on one.)

This movie's theme song by DMX is so catchy and tough and mean. I (Sadie) would buy this cd for that song alone, that is if you haven't seen the commercial so many times you're sick to death of it. The second song on the cd is by Eminem, who I swear I try to give the benefit of the doubt more than anyone else, In fact, I'm even kinda obsessed with him, but Christ. This song sounds like a parody of himself: totally flat, monotonous and still women hating (issues much, Em?). So booooring. "Go to sleep bitch die mother fucker die why are you still alive, die you nameless bitch". Ha ha, so funny...I guess. And sadly the rest goes kinda goes down hill from there. Relitively dull and nondescript hip hop. But maybe worth it for that DMX track!

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Interested in a "UK Public Enemy"?! Read on... Gotta admit, until this new collection on Rephlex label came out, we'd never heard of late '80s / early '90s "Britcore" hip hop crew The Criminal Minds (formed 1985) before, nor for that matter any of the other UK rappers mentioned as The Criminal Minds' contemporaries in Rephlex's blurb for this release, like Hijack, Silver Bullet, and the Demon Boyz. When we think of hip hop from England we think of groups like Bomb The Bass, although we're more familiar with the grime stuff, more recent artists like Dizzy Rascal, Lethal Bizzle, and Lady Sovereign. But this is old school rap, a reissue of some super rare tracks by this legendary, if obscure group whom we're guessing might have been named after the B.D.P. album. Initially, we were curious about The Criminal Minds 'cause we were told they sounded like a UK version of Public Enemy, and that's a pretty accurate description! Their dramatic, hectic mix of rhythms and rhyming is definitely a lot like a Bomb Squad production, dense with (doubtlessly uncleared) samples, sirens wailing, funky drum breaks, plenty of turntable scratching whip whip wap, and even the use of a newscaster-like voiceover, delivering "This just in..." updates about the doings of the MC Iceski, DJ Halo, Chase 1, DJ Spatts, and associates. So for sure this will remind you of PE, although none of The Criminal Minds has the powerful stentorian voice of Chuck D, or the colorful personality of Flavor Flav, of course. But T.C.M.'s MCs are verbally adept, with a rapidfire old school flow, though. We're getting nostalgic listening to this, even though we'd never heard it before. Just kinda neat to have some "new" old school hip hop with that apocalyptic Bomb Squad vibe, that at the same time is fresh and different (to us) being British and all. It's all very rough and raw and DIY, and being from England they incorporate some dancehall stylings here and there. Also they have a penchant for what sound like samples from classical music - or soundtracks - an obvious one being their use of John Williams' "Imperial March" Darth Vader theme from Star Wars! Gotta love that. After a little internet research, we've determined that the tracks on the main disc here are mostly taken from The Criminal Minds' first two 12"s, their 1990 debut Guilty As Charged and its 1991 follow up Tales From The Wasteland (from whence the cover art for this Rephlex anthology comes). Both eps were self-released, bedroom productions, with very few copies pressed - originals sell for hundreds and hundreds of dollars these days. The bonus disc appears to contain more demos, remixes, and unreleased tracks, but it's also got a couple cuts from the Tales From The Wasteland 12", not sure why it's organized like this, or why this is a "bonus" disc, with a tracklisting only given for the main one. All very mysterious, which leads us to our only real complaint, no liner notes. C'mon, Rephlex! If you're gonna reissue this stuff, why not let us know a little something about it? Basically, though, what you're getting here are all the group's crucial back catalog tracks, remastered to boot. Right on. Now we've gotta find some Hijack and Silver Bullet records too... FYI, the above review is of the 2cd version, we're also listing the limited edition double vinyl, which contains just 9 of the 25 tracks found on the cds, but it's the only way to get 'em on wax without spending a fortune.

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Recently profiled in The Wire, Skiz "Spectre" Fernando and his WordSound label have released quite a few "illbient" hip hop records that we've been into here at Aquarius. This compilation highlights several of our faves from the WordSound crew: Scotty Hard, Spectre, Prince Charming, and of course rapper Sensational, among others. It's the soundtrack to Skiz's low-budget, 'student' WordSound film Crooked, which was previously available as a double with the DVD of said film. This is the better deal though, as it's 4 bucks cheaper AND you won't end up watching the decidedly tedious movie. Great soundtrack, though. This version, by the way, has 2 extra tracks but is also about eight minutes shorter, for some reason...OH WAIT, I figured it out: this disc is ENTIRELY DIFFERENT! So, forget what we said about this being a better deal, it's in fact a different deal. That was the "soundtrack", this is the "original score". Hmm. It seems that these are the tracks that were made expressly for the film, but weren't included on the soundtrack cd that came with the dvd. Unlike that disc, there's no previously available stuff on here (which was the case with several of the Sensational cuts on that one). So you gotta get both, WordSound hedz. This one's all about incidental mostly instrumental music from a dark, dubby, hiphop perspective, which is what a lot of WordSound stuff sounds like, even when it's not meant for an actual film. Artists, aside from the above mentioned, included Mentol Nomad, the dreaded Bill Laswell, Mr. Dead, and live drum n' bassers UV Ray.

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Never thought of Australia as a hot bed for hip hop, did ya? Us neither. But with rad artists like Macromantics and Curse Ov Dialect throwin' down the goods, things may be taking a turn. Mind you, Curse Ov Dialect aren't a new group, they've been releasing music overseas for years. These four MCs and one DJ of Indian, Macedonian, Maltese, Maori and Pakistani descent dish out their Wooden Tongues resplendent with world beat influences drawing from their respective roots and beyond, and world wise lyrics laden with potent yet not didactic social and political messages. A vigorous and vibrant sophomore album.

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Cut Chemist really needs no introduction, he is a pioneer in the worlds of hip-hop and turntablism, being a part of one of the most refreshing and innovative hip-hop acts ever, Jurassic Five, as well as playing in Ozomatli, collaborating with folks like Madlib and DJ Shadow, and releasing his own solo albums that showcase his awe inspiring turntable skills. With Sound Of The Police, you can tell that he and Madlib are in a similar state of mind as far as really appreciating psychedelic sounds from the past and from all around the globe. Here CC takes amazing sounds from obscure records from South America and Africa as well as some modern tracks influenced by those musical movements, to make a seamless hip-hop spirited mix that is as infectious as it is flawless. What's totally mind blowing about this record is that it was recorded live with Cut Chemist creating the mix using only one turntable, one mixer and a delay pedal. No laptops involved in this creation and it really shows, as you hear the warmth and the crackling vinyl of these groove filled sounds that he pieces together into a distinctly hip-hop mix but while still being totally respectful and so appreciative of the sounds being sampled. Definitely turning into one of our favorite end of summer jams!

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The longtime dj collaborator and aQ fave turntable wizard Cut Chemist, who over the years has jammed with the likes of Jurassic 5, Ozomatli, DJ Shadow, Shortkut and Madlib, finally goes it alone... well, sorta. He's got a little help from his friends and the backing of a major label. Markedly absent is an abundance of wildly kinetic displays of scratchin' dexterity. With the exception of The Audience Is Listening's final track (and theme song!), his ol' over the top acrobatics on the decks have been tempered into the for the most part even-keeled energetically groovin' tracks. Its potential appeal is far broader. Although he is most renowned as a jaw-dropping turntablist, Cut Chemist has effectively done his part to further define the turntable as an everyday instrument rather than gimmick/trickster accessory -- muting its presence rather than trumpeting it. His beloved wit and playfulness are fortunately still fully intact in his samplin' selection as is evident in tracks such as "Spat". Other standouts surface midway through the proceedings, the sixth track "What's The Altitude" which features Hymnal (who along with Edan and Mr. Lif on "Storm" contributes the scant MC presence on the album -- both tracks shine a little bit extra) and the seventh "Metrorail Thru Space". A solid, skillfully composed and assembled solo debut.

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CX, former DJ for Antipop Consortium, with his first solo joint, extolling the virtues not of the drug, but of everyone else's OTHER favorite crack, the booty! Yep, this is raunchy, nasty, bootylicious hip hop electro rap punk whathafuck for sure. A who's who of guest emcees including Rammellzee, Zion from Zion I, Otto Von Schirach, High Priest and a bunch more all flowing wildly and inventively about 'the krak'. Bouncy Miami bass beats collide with cheesy synths, video game samples over super lowrider 808's, bumping bass bins, handclaps, weird sonic squiggles, and some seriously deranged and demented rhyming. At first, we were sort of confused and confounded, but the more we play this, the more we find it completely irresistible. This is demented dance party sexmusic! Fans of Rio Baile Funk, Fannypack, Miami Bass, Kool Keith's Sex Style, MF Doom, and all things weird, dance-y, sexy and goofy will LOVE this! Super raunchy cover art featuring some grafitti style artwork over a dizzying collage of low-slung jeans and lots and lots of krak!

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The newest Cypress Hill is two discs of whiney stoned bombast we've come to love. The only difference this time around is the addition of.... a metal band on disc two. Ugh. Still sounds like Cypress Hill, but now it sounds like Korn too. You might as well seek out Sen Dog's new metal band if that's the sound you're looking for. Yet another failed rap/metal fusion. I'm still waiting for Morbid Angel to get Method Man to rap on one of their records. Now that would be good.

It's no surprise that Cypress Hill is still in 'band mode' after their questionable foray into metal with their 'Skull And Bones' record. But it seems like maybe they've learned a thing or two from past mistakes. It was always a huge diappointment that 2 of my So Cypress Hill has taken the nu-metal sound of their 'Skull and Bones' record and tempered it a little, with that whiny, bare bones hip hop they are so good at. And things turn out pretty cool. The metal bits only pop up on 3 or 4 songs, but when they do, it's not so bad. It helps that the verses are still all 'So I Could Just Kill A Man'-style with the choruses exploding in a fury of crunchy riffs and shouted metal choruses. The rest of the record, the non-metal bits, shape up as quite a decent Cypress Hill record. Some classic low-rider anthems, some old school NWA gangsta-style shit (feat. NWA's Ren of course), cool surf guitars and not-annoying soulful female vocals, old P-Funk style party tracks. And some guest vocals by Kurupt, Method Man and Redman. A nice surprise after basically having given up on them a couple years back.

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THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. Mellow MC rhymin' on Matt (ex-Outpunk maven) Wobensmith's new punk-free label "Queercorps".

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY.

No one wanted to like Eminem, but we all sort of did, at least musically (definitely not lyrically/politically) and the same holds true for Eminem's 'band' D12. With all the hype and the controversy, you just sort of want to pretend they don't exist, but

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Daedelus has such great taste! From the cover art (a frame borrowed from Winsor McCay's classic Little Nemo In Slumberland comic strip) to the wide range of influences, you can these all shape his amazing and eclectic blend of uber smart and sharp post modern electronica/hip-hop. While some folks like Scott Herren (Prefuse 73, Savath & Savalas, etc) need many side projects to fit the needs of a particular sound & style they want to explore, Daedelus has mastered bringing it all together under one colorful umbrella. Brazilian mamba meets warped out glitches meets post rock momentum meets anything and everything. From start to finish this album has lifted us into the air and into a world where you keep moving and the colors keep changing and somehow it always makes perfect sense. This is for sure the most assured and coherent album in an already impressive back catalog. Daedelus has proven with this release that he is a creative musical mind fresh in his prime.

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THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. We all loved Donnie Darko. And apparently so did Boom Bip and Daedelus, who decided to get together and make a couple tracks inspired by and perhaps borrowing from the film. Boom Bip's side is a throbbing ambient wash, like listening to Crash Worship scoring a love scene from Sixteen Candles. Propulsive tribal drumming underpins huge shifting slabs of new wave-tinged ambience, minor key and melancholy. Sounds like it could have been lifted wholesale from the actual score! Daedelus' track is a skittery moody, down tempo late night electronica workout. Hip hop infused soundscapes, dreamy and dark with gorgeously mournful piano (sampled from the film) sounding like a track Shadow could've come up with in his prime. Limited to 2000 copies, never to be repressed.

48 page book. 10 animation DVD. 30 song soundtrack. Some of the dissidents: Melvins Grant Hart David Yow Jon Spencer

Tons of amazing hip-hop has come through here lately. We were all a-flutter over the most recent J. Dilla and El-P albums. And now we have the fourth album from Newark, NJ's Dalek. While not as mind blowing as either of those two, it's still a pretty cool disc. Minimalist rhythms follow the old-school bass/snare/bass-ba-bass/snare pattern and land Abandoned Language consistently somewhere between Tribe Called Quest and the Fugees in BPM's, but somehow the record fails to deliver the lyrical depth those groups thrived on. However, the aptly titled "Abandoned Language" is chock full of super interesting samples and strange scratching, at a speed perfect for contemplative head bobbing. This album definitely finds Dalek forging new sonic paths and we're curious to see where they'll lead next...

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It's been almost three years since we've had a full length release from Dalek, which is WAY too long. It's always refreshing to get some new hip hop in that doesn't follow the formulaic patterns that rigidly rule most hip hop releases. Absence is barely a hip hop album at all. Beginning with a 30 second a cappella from Dalek, we're quickly submerged into a wash of beautifully torrential guitar feedback drone and pounding almost metallic drums. From that point on Absence progresses as an album closer to My Bloody Valentine's Loveless, or early Seefeel than to most hip hop albums. Not only in that Absence is lushly layered with droning feedback, keyboard sweeps and grinding blasts of noise, but Dalek's voice tends to get submerged -- way down in the churning murky mix, making his voice just another strange sound swirling and swooping amidst the chaos, and making this record a truly fucked up sort-of-hip-hop record!

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Dalek has always represented the flipside to glossy commercial mainstream hip-hop. In fact we remember first hearing them on their Gern Blandsten debut, a label best know in the 90's for releasing hardcore, and spazzy indie rock. It makes sense that Dalek have spent their career on labels that don't usually venture into that sort of sound (Ipecac, Tigerbeat 6, Hydra Head), as their brand of dark and brooding hip-hop has a lot in common with the world of underground rock and beyond. Their eerie and moody vibe borrows as much from psych and kraut as it does the grittier side of hip-hop. In fact they even collaborated with Faust a few years back for a record that's now sadly out of print. This is a great collection compiling a bunch of rarities, remixes and a few previously unreleased tracks. And unless you have hunted down all their 12"s in the past this will probably be the first time you've heard any of this stuff. One of those killer collections that really captures all the elements of what a group is all about. From moody instrumentals to the dark and intense lyrical flow, this serves as either the perfect introduction or a wonderful reminder of what a great and essential voice in the world of hip-hop Dalek represent.

MPEG stream: Desolant Peasants
MPEG stream: Vague Collection

Not purely hip hop nor dub nor electronic, Dalek might be right at home on Mike Patton's similarly genre-leaping label Ipecac. You may have heard Dalek rapping on top of Techno Animal's "Dead Man's Curse" track, a big favorite of Windy's from 2001. This full length is ferocious and powerful, full of threatening silences and massive bursts of noise. I like it. Dalek's epic, incantatory vocal stylings are pushed right up against apocalyptic, doom-laden instrumentation: high pitched squealing feedback that sounds like air raid sirens, abandoned machine bleeps, paranoid dub-heavy beats, crashing cymbals and other live drumming, shimmering guitar. There's even a psychedelicky track called "Forever Close My Eyes" that's got staticky record hiss, tabla, ethereal organs, melancholy melodic guitar strumming, even (what sounds like) sitar. Very well done! There's comparisons to be made with the DefJux (El-P, Cannibal Ox, Company Flow) sound -- scary hip hop with lots of noisy bits -- so if you like DefJux you'll porobaby get into this. Also definitely for fans of Spectre, Sensational, Techno Animal. Look for an upcoming split with Kid606, and there's even a collaboration with krautrockers Faust that'll hopefully get released by someone.

RealAudio clip: Spiritual Healing
RealAudio clip: Forever Close My Eyes

These last few months have finally seen the arrival of the most recent batch of Latitudes releases, some that had been in the pipeline for months, maybe even years, first Gang Gang Dance and Gowns, then Nadja and Mount Eerie, and most recently the Master Musician of Bukkake, and now finally, this sprawling avant hip hop doomscape from Dalek, who already pushes the boundaries with his proper releases, but this one takes it even further, a massive 44 minute untitled sonic sprawl, epic and abstract, dark and ominous, lush and majestic, a slow burning dubbed out bass heavy intro lays the groundwork. Warped and warbly, a shimmery downtempo creep, laced with distant melodies, buried vox, folky guitars, there's some rapping, more like spoken word, but it fades out quickly as the surrounding sounds blossom and expand into a dark swirling dronescape, bits of twang and garbled voices drift on a sea of hiss and hum, of muted melody and crumbling textures, and then things get serious, the sounds is cranked up, the low end thick, the rhythms industrial and grinding, almost like some sort of hip-hopped SUNNO))) / Godspeed hybrid, the vocals buried in the mix, before it all winds down again, and then in come the tablas (!), wrapped in weird backwards swoops and heaving slabs of low end rumble, building again, this time into a lumbering string laden machine like trudge, doomy and dark, almost like a more blissed out Gnaw Their Tongues, orchestral and epic, and after about 27 minutes, a proper hip hop beats swoops in, still wreathed in caustic buzz, and surrounded by all manner of fractures sounds and effects, and suddenly it's like the hardest heaviest hip hop you've never heard, super distorted and blown out, a crushing chunk of post apocalyptic robo funk lope, which eventually fades out, leaving just a long stretch of hushed shimmer, and tangled steel string melody, all blurred and smeared into a hazy expanse of ominous minimal drift, and one final verse, delivered ominously over the tense droning whir beneath. Fucking KILLER. LIMITED TO 1000 COPIES, the covers the immediately recognizable brown and white origami style Latitudes sleeves, this one with a black and silver cover image glued to the front, and a full color insert inside.

MPEG stream: Untitled

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY.

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY.

A sixteen-piece "mixtape" created by Dan the Automator. While there are plenty of tracks that he himself originated or remixed (like Deltron 3030, Gorillaz, Lovage) there are also personal favorites of his that he's messed with in typical cool Automator

RealAudio clip: Seneca
RealAudio clip: intro

Newset release on the so far flawless Lex hip hop label, and while this is of course another winner, it's way less OUT THERE than the first few releases, and way more pop. Which is not a bad thing. Not at all. Just means if all things were fair, this shit would be HUGE and all over MTV. I mean c'mon, the DJ, Dangermouse, wears a huge furry mouse costume! How cool is that. And the tracks he comes up with are amazing, bizarre sample, soaring strings and angelic choirs, all layered under funky basslines and simple BIG beats. And Jemini's flow is so smooth, but still manages to be really unique, spitting all sorts of random madness. And there's plenty of actual hooks and REAL singing. Reminds me a lot of Outkast with their penchant for writing real songs instead of the tired old looped sample/beat structure of almost all hip hop. But as much as I do like Outkast, I like DM and Jemini way better. It's just a little bit weirder, and catchier, and more fun. Which is saying a lot. Features guest spots by Tha Liks, Organised Confusion and the Pharcyde! And of course there's the packaging....Lex's packaging is easily the best we've ever seen. But this record is just unbelievable, even for Lex. Embossed, metallic gold ink on weirdly textured black paper of a huge pile of crystals/jewels, a cat jeweller, and a reclining mouse with some swiss cheese bling. Really hard to explain. But pretty much everyone who has seen it says something along the lines of "Holy fuck!"

MPEG stream: Ghetto Pop Life
MPEG stream: Medieval

Those of you who missed DM and Jemini's Ghetto Pop Life album from a little while back need to rectify that situation immdediately! And this six track ep is that kick in the ass to remind you to do just that, and to remind us just how fucking brilliant these guys are. Sure we all dig Outkast, but if there was any justice in this MTV /pop / radio world, DM and Jemini would be just as huge. This is funky and fun and weird and wonderful. Catchy and crazy and better than anything you see on MTV or hear on the radio. The song 'Ghetto Pop Life' (remixed here twice) is without a doubt the underground 'Hey Ya'. Seriously. Guest spots by Cee Lo, the Alkaholicks and Saddat X. Get this, then get the full length, and then wait for the next full length like it's December 26th and you're already counting the days until next Christmas!

MPEG stream: Remix
MPEG stream: Ghetto Pop Life Remix

[ aquarius records — Hiphop ]