Podcast: The Nextmen - Podcast #10

I've been banging on about The Nextmen podcast for a while now, so I'm sure most of you are already well up on the fact that the tenth installment in one of the best damn podcasts out there right now has dropped.

If you're not up with the play, read on, and then download at will. Over to the boys: "Ok so it looks like the summer has stood us up yet again but The Nextmen podcast waits for no man.

"Once more we deliver to you a variety of tracks selected from the wisest possible base in this, the 10th installment of our monthly mix.

We've cherrypicked from the latest and greatest and you'll hear freshness from the likes of Maverick Sabre, Bad Meets Evil, SBTRKT and Seiji amongst others.

"Enjoy the tunes and make sure you download your free track, the password is in there somewhere folks... Who needs a hot summer anyway?"

You can subscribe to The Nextmen's podcast here. To download the free tune mentioned above, head over to thenextmen.com once you've heard the secret word. Word.

Video: Mac MIller - 'Best Day Ever'

Everyone likes baby videos, don't they? Maybe it's got something to do with the fact that I'm going to be a dad in a month's time, but I for one am a bit of a sucker for them.

The prince of Pittsburgh, Mac Miller, has played the old 'tug on the heartstrings' card rather well in his latest video, 'Best Day Ever'.

Young Miller has delved into the family archives to pull out some footage of days gone by and turned it into a rather nice wee clip to accompany a rather nice wee song.

Check it out below:

Mix Tape: DJ Chris Read - 'Classic Material 1995'

If you've been reading this site even for the shortest of times, you probably will have figured out that 90's hip hop is my thing. It's my bread and butter. It courses through my veins. It [insert over-the-top cliche here].

Luckily for me, Chris Read shares my passion. Over the last nine or so months, the man behind London's infamous Classic Material parties has been stringing together a series of quality mixes of quality hip hop from yesteryear.

Each month, Chris has selected the top tunes from each year from the late 80's onwards, making a 'Best Of' musical annual of sorts and throwing what is one hell of a party where only music from said year is spun. Hip hop geeks rejoice!

The week, the Classic Material series reaches 1995. So if, like me, tracks such as Grand Puba's 'I Like It', Blahzay Blahzay's 'Danger' and Mobb Deep's 'Shook Ones Part 2' float your boat, then you should read on/listen/download at will.

Over to Chris: "Edition #9 of our monthly Classic Material series pays tribute to the hip hop of 1995.

"The output of '95 arguably typifies what is often referred to as the 'mid 90s sound', with filtered and layered grooves accompanying crisp programmed drums at a tempo generally far lower than in previous years.

"The general trend for decreasing tempos peaked in '95 with a significant proportion of single releases barely breaking the 90bpm mark.
"1995 is also notable for the rise of a darker more melancholy production style with even the darkest of backdrops (Mobb Deep's Shook Ones Part 2 for example) scoring as unlikely club hits."

Right, now you know what to expect, check out Classic Material 1995 below or download from here. For more details on this month's party (which is taking place in London this Saturday, 16 July), click here:

Classic Material Edition#9 (1995) by Chris Read (Musicofsubstance) on Mixcloud

New Music: @peace - '@peace' LP

Last week I wrote a semi-cryptic post on a fresh new LP by a crew called @peace, rolling out of Auckland, New Zealand.

Thankfully, someone has kindly offered up a little more info on the project so I'm no longer in the dark.

In fact, they've even been kind enough to provide a link to @peace's Band Camp site, meaning you can now share in the goodness. Bless.

But first, a little more detail courtesy of the band: "@peace is a collaborative project from two New Zealand lyricists Tom Scott & Lui Tuiasau. Executive produced by Christoph El Truento (of Wonderful Noise) and mastered by Benny Tones (of Electric Wire Hustle, BBE)."

"This video for the self tittled track 'At Peace' is the latest of a series of snippets ('New Day' 'Time Traveling' 'Be Like' and 'My World') from the album that can be seen on the Vimeo page."

The @peace LP is available on a 'name your own price' basis, but don't be tight - give up a few £'s/$'s for the cause:



For those of you with short attention spans who can't sit through an album, check out one of the album's better cuts, 'Nobody':

Nobody (Feat Lucky Lance) by at-peace

New Music: Common - 'Ghetto Dreams' (Feat. Nas)

For me, Common's last album, 2008's Universal Mind Control, didn't really stand my tried and true time test.

What's this time test, I hear you ask? It's quite simple, really: after the initial rush of repeat listens that comes when you buy an album, how regularly do you gravitate back to it? Not really rocket science, but effective nonetheless.

And considering I haven't listened to anything off UMC for a good year and a half, it's pretty clear it doesn't really pass the test.

In hindsight, UMC missed the mark a little on the beats and lyrics front (although the title track was, and still is dope).

But fans of the Common of yesteryear will be happy to hear that our main man has decided to go back to the source of his earlier success for his next album, The Dreamer, The Believer, which is due for release in November.

Com has hooked up with old go-to producer NoI.D. - the man responsible for many of Com's early bangers - for his first album in over three years.

And as Com's recently leaked collaboration with Nas shows, he's all the better for it. 'Ghetto Dreams' sees both M.C.s going for it over a tough, tough beat. Nas - who has been on a bit of a tear as of late - was kind enough to post it on Soundcloud. You can check it below:

Common - Ghetto Dreams feat NAS by Nasir Jones

The download link has long expired, but if you missed out, head over to Nah Right to get your download on.

Video: @peace - 'At Peace'

I've got a nice little teaser video to share today, courtesy of @peace - one of the more intriguing musical projects that's currently bubbling away down in the depths of my homeland, New Zealand.

From what I can figure, @peace is a two-man crew, made up of an M.C. by the name of Tom from well-respected Auckland rap group Home Brew (more from them here), and his mate Lui (Kiwi compadres, jump in and correct me if I'm wrong).

I might be shady on the details, but the music certainly speaks for itself. After being slipped a little upfront preview of their upcoming album - I'm not even sure what it's called, to be honest - I'm liking what I'm hearing.

Comprised of equal parts vibey, soulful production, and thoughtful, well-delivered lyrics, @peace is well worth checking out if you like your hip hop with a dose of substanc and reality.

One of my favourites from the boys is their self-titled track. Well, it's called 'At Peace'. But they're called @peace. Or is it the other way around? Oh the confusion. Check out a taste of it below:


@peace 'At Peace' from @ Peace on Vimeo.

@peace's album is out in New Zealand on 9 July, but the wonders of technology mean that you can probably pick it up wherever you are. For now, head to @peace's Vimeo page to hear a bit more of their material. More to follow soon.

New Music: Jesse Futerman – ‘Super Basement’ EP

Repeat listen alert! After getting a chance to properly trawl through my e-mails last night, I stumbled across the Super Basement EP by 19-year old Canadian producer, Jesse Futerman – and it’s been on loop on the iPod ever since.

Combining all the best bits of soul, jazz and hip hop (well, there’s no rapping, but there’s beats – so let’s change that to some of the best bits of hip hop), Super Basement is a sure-shot for fans of any of the aforementioned.

According to the gang at Jus Like Music (big up!), who are responsible for unleashing Super Basement on the world wide interwebs, Futerman has been “turning heads with his classy edits and productions for a while now.”

“The Super Basement EP is a refined collection of six beautifully crafted and constructed tracks, delving deep through strings and brass to deliver a haunting, yet eloquently soulful experience.”

Well said. For me, it’s all about ‘Driva’man’ and ‘I Love You So’, but the whole thing is quality. Don’t sleep on this like I almost did…you can download the Super Basement EP by Jesse Futerman here, or stream it below: