What does Black sound like?

No I am not about to entire into some racial tirade about what black music is. But i love the name of these guys.  Two young black kids from Jersey(New, not the Isle of) calling themselves the Voices of Black. Whether its a comment on the colour of their skin, some sort of political statement or maybe they are talking about something entirely different. I really don't care.  Its interesting shit. Sometimes it gets a little bit weird and spacey but its obvious that their influences are pretty varied. And like I said, Its interesting. Refreshing to the ears to hear such a diverse collection of stuff.  Especially this umm cover(?) of one of my All Time faves...

Voices of Black - Papa Was

Voices of Black - A Place Called Fame

Lost & Burried Treasure

Its been 2 weeks since my knee surgery and though I've been mostly sat on my ass, I dunno what it was I just wasn't really up to blogging.  It could easily have been the pain killers- I was a Percocet zombie.  Now that I've started physio and I'm walking, actually I'm not going to call how I move around walking because it looks more like a Neanderthal shuffle, but ya now that I am doing that, I really am feeling better about things.  That and a steady bunch of visiting friends have really helped.  And so this weekend, chilling with a few friends I managed to go on a search for sunken treasure without ever having to leave my gorgeous new sofa.

Sometimes I consume so much music in the run of a day that it kind of gets lost on me.  I'll hear it and move on, without ever really listening. Next day, rinse-repeat, and after 3 days I don't even manage to remember that I was completely in love with a track and it has died somewhere in the recently added side of my iTunes.  Lucky for me, my husband appears to pay a bit closer attention, and had harvested a bunch of these little beauties into a playlist which repeatedly had my scurrying off the couch to find out what they were and how they managed to sneak into my iTunes without me noticing.

Beacause I've taken a bit of flack from a few people for not posting during all this free time, Today its a SuperSized, two-parter.

It's a (bizarrely warm) rainy Monday here in Toronto, but I'm fairly certain you'll be able to notice that the weather has had an effect on my musical distractions in part number 1 of today's post:

Dinah Washington - This Bitter Earth

Ruede Haggelstein & The Noblettes - A Priori (Original Mix)

Groove Armada - History

And now for part 2. That Dinah Washington song by the way... amazing.  After we heard it in Shutter Island(meh) last week it was on repeat for about an hour, so at least something good came out of watching that. With these next couple I'm going to try and pretend its not a rainy Monday and that my dancing shoes are not on a shelf collecting dust. If you think you recognize In The City, its because that little ditty looping in the background is from Pharcyde and has been sampled to death for probably about 20 years.

Alena - Changes (Ron Basejam Mix)

Andre Crom & Martin Dawson - In The City

Goloka - Ain't No Game

hoping for some mighty efficient machines

I cannot stop listening to this album. Every spare second I have had for 2 days has been spent with this as my musical backdrop.  The album is about a year old, released last February by a producer from Denmark named Kasper Bjørke.  Its called Sitting On Top Of Utopia, and what a fucking marvelous view it is from the top! Hot damn.  Theres elements of disco, dark menacing electronia, indie pop and even parts of it that remind me of Muse and strangely it doesn't feel scattered.  This will be my soundtrack while im sitting in the hospital tomorrow recovering from ACL reconstructive surgery on my left knee, giddy'up!
These are my early two favourites from the album:

Kasper Bjørke - Efficient Machine

Kasper Bjørke - Fido & The Friendly Ghost

Cow birds in the clouds

So I ended up taking a little break from the blog over the Holidays... There was just so much going on I didnt really have time to spend an hour sorting through tunes and writing, but its nice to be back :). Eventful doesn't even begin to summarize the season but after all the parties, the presents, the drama and oh my god the booze, its a brand new year.  I don't tend to make grandiose resolutions, and this year will be no different.  Generally just striving to be a more complete person, and experience new things.. so bring it on 2012. 
Musically I'm going to sort of ease it on in on a pretty chilled tip.  A producer friend of mine from the UK whose musical opinion I really respect put this next album as his tops of 2011 and I completely agree. I won't get all flowery and start describing it but it is a 28 track album. Ambitious to say the least.  The album is called "Clouds" and its by a fellow named Apollo Brown, hailing from the Motor City... and no I don't mean Stuttgart this time. Also check the album art... i like it :)

Apollo Brown - Drinking Life

Apollo Brown - Know The Time

Now maybe Santa brought you new dancing shoes for Christmas.  Maybe yours have been in the closet picking up dust over the Holigays? Either way, dust those puppies off cuz its time for a nice proper House Jam! Courtesy of none other than Crosstown Rebels, comes this beauty of a soulful chuggin' track that, to quote my friend Walther, is a "real treat".  On top of the fact I really love the song, its got a completely foolish name... my favourite. Mind you, I mean... maybe every cow does have a bird and I'm just out of the loop?

Guti & Dubshape - Every Cow Has A Bird

the little (motor city) drum(mer boy) Ensemble. para pa pum pum

Ooof what a weekend.  Hosted my 3rd Annual tree trimming extravaganza at my place which took most of my attention last week getting the house ready, but happy to be back with a new post.  Most people that love dance people know they owe something to Detroit.  But how about Stuttgart?  When I first heard this guys work I loved it.. and as I usually do, started looking into who he was and didn't really bother to think about where he was from because it was clearly Detroit.  Ooops. As it turns out a more appropriate name may have been the Autobahn Drum Ensemble, but I guess the geography of it all doesn't really matter.  He also feels he owes something to Detroit and his adopted name is merely an homage to one of the birthplaces of the music he loves... after all it does sound more like it came out of Chicago or Detroit than Stuttgart or Berlin!

Motor City Drum Ensemble - L.O.V.E.

Motor City Drum Ensemble - Raw Cuts #3

Good ol' Cocoon does it again! Whether they put out a stompy banging techno track or something as pretty as this next one, such an amazing catalogue of music!  Came across this on a compilation album by Robag Wruhme, ya I know.. say that 3 times fast, but i've been listening to it quite a lot :)

Kollektiv Turmstrasse - Dead Room

speed of sound

I have a lot of music on this hard drive... And it seems like since I started this blog its growing exponentially. To the point that my other half is concerned over the processing speeds of our dearly beloved iMac.  So I'm trying to slow down my err consumption, a bit, and it has also made me realize so much music I have, I hear it a couple times and its lost in a sea of others.  So for the next little bit I'm going to dedicate myself to re-exploring my hard drive in search of lost and somewhat forgotten gems. For instance, this post. A track I was introduced to by a DJ friend of mine in London, Tom Davey.  If you're in blighty check 'em out! meanwhile..

Four Tet - Angel Echoes (Caribou Remix)

I'm not sure where this one came from, but H.O.S.H if i am not mistaken is one of the residents of Panoramma bar in Berlin, which I am way past due for a visit. I could do without the little rap bit nearer the end, but I love Queen, and its such a classic bassline....

H.O.S.H - Another One Bites The Booty

Aging gracefully

As I have mentioned before, I'm a waiter. I work at a cute little neighbourhood Bistro in a nice part of town.  We have a lot of older rich ladies as customers.  Last night I was marveling at this table of 7 Jewish ladies in their 50s who were waiting for the guest of honour, the birthday girl, with such baited breath I thought  Barbara Streissand might come in. Their level of excitement was oddly palpable, and when she finally arrived she was this tiny , stick-thin woman in her 50s with impeccable hair and skin so tight you could train a gymnast on it.  Every time I looked at her face I was actually surprised by the effort people go through to make themselves look THAT fake.  And I wondered if when I get old and saggy if its something I would ever consider.. you know; a tuck here, a lift there.  Whatever happened to getting old gracefully? Being older but still looking fabulous without all that stuff in your face.
So heres a marriage of the two. I heard him play this track last time he was here in Toronto, a few years ago.  Grace Jones, the epitome of looking amazing at whatever age shes at now.. saw a live performance on line a few weeks ago and shes still AMAZING! And then theres Danny.. who, if you have never had the pleasure of making his acquaintance, and as much as I like 'em, has a fair bit of filler in those cheeks!

Its a long mix and the first few minutes kinda drag on... but again, its Danny.. get used to him dragging on.

Grace Jones & Tricky - Cradle To Grave (Danny Tenaglia White Label Mix)

This one I was sent last week from a friend of mine and i love it! Lots of layers of stuff happening around a nice steady rhythm. Thanks Michael!  I don't really know anything about the artist, and Last.fm and Google weren't a whole heap of help tracking anything down.. but great track :)

Henry Saiz & Pional - Uroboros (Original Mix)