Mixtape Riot

Just a quick post with the first single from Moby’s forthcoming album in a video directed by David Lynch. I can’t say I’m a huge fan of Lynch’s work, but the guy definitely has a unique style, and the eerie subject matter for the video seems to work just right with the melancholy tone of this song. On top of that, I wouldn’t say that I’ve been so into Moby’s recent stuff that much either, but this track now makes me curious to hear what the direction of the rest of the album goes in.

Soulico Crew (yes, the same cats who are making a mix for us…soon!) extended family member Kutiman (Tel Aviv STAND UP!) has just released his new mindboggling remix project. I’m gonna let these video/audio montage masterpieces speak for themselves, but do yerself a favor and WATCH THEM ALL. At first I didn’t believe it was legit, but when you see the vocalists getting involved, there’s really no doubting the realness. In a moment of near utter chaos for me (lost computer, hard drive, DJ equipment etc.) I’m relying on the most crazy of inspiration to pull me out of my own head trip. Thanks KUTI! And check the man’s funky ass album if you haven’t yet. 

On a totally unrelated tip, if you like keeping up with the best new underground/up-n-coming shows and artists, check out the super fresh Bloom Blog run by two entirely baddass sisters who are lifelong members of the Mixtape Riot! fam- Fiona B & Miz Metro.  You gotta check back on a regular basis to even try to keep up with them!

I’m sorry this is late. If I had a time machine, well, I probably wouldn’t even be here sharing this. But seriously, even if I am a bit late to the game, El DeBarge, Fat Boys, Full Force, Grandmaster Melle Mel, Whitney Houston, Kurtis Blow, Stacy Lattisaw, Lisa Lisa, Teena Marie, Menudo (with Ricky Martin), Stephanie Mills, New Edition, Run-D.M.C., James “J.T.” Taylor, and Whodini?! I don’t know what the equivalent would be these days, except probably that there’s just no equivalent. Originally organized by Kurtis Blow and others in collaboration with Dexter Scott King (MLK Jr.’s son).

The King Dream Chorus and Holiday Crew – King Holiday

So you might start noticing I’m mostly posting videos. Being one of the graphics guys, it seems to make sense my stuff would lean towards music mixing with visuals. Or maybe: meh, it is what it is. This is not even the type of music I would normally find myself listening to, but I was captivated enough by the visuals that I got a little into it. Not even sure what to call it, but who’s able to keep track of all the sub-genres these days anyway…

The video is not even paired with the music for reasons much beside the fact that the audio works well as a test for the render. But hey, it works. Imagine if your iTunes visualizer eventually looked like this… Created by  Robert Hogdin.

Update: So apparently Hogdin actually is one of the creative geniuses behind the current iTunes visualizer. I never really use it, but now that I’ve taken another look, I guess I can’t say I’m that surprised.

Alright, this is a quick teaser. With his new mixtape about to drop, here’s a dope video of Chen Lo‘s track ‘Brooklyn,’ directed by Christine Turner.

Where did these dudes come from?? It’s not like on first listen, these tracks sound so radically different from some other electro hip-pop out there right now. But the duo Sam Spiegel (Squeak E. Clean) and Ze Gonzales (DJ Zegon) that make N.A.S.A. (North America/South America), have constructed what at least has potential to be a really great project. With a full-length release due next month and a complimenting documentary (?) in the works, they are at least worth keeping an eye on. You can’t really listen to their tracks without thinking ‘mashup,’ but leaving it at that seems somewhat dismissive of the incredible collaborative work that went into this endeavor. These aren’t mere remixes, but original tracks with a choir of featured artists that don’t make up your everyday trip down to the recording studio: David Byrne, Chuck D, Seu Jorge, Santogold, M.I.A., Tom Waits, Kool Keith, Kanye, Lykke Li… WTF?? So again, I ask – where did these dudes come from? Check their MySpace page for more. Read the rest of this entry »