New Music: Suburban Dream - 'New Year's Day'

Irish producer Suburban Dream (who you might remember thanks to his excellent Kid Loco remix posted a wee while ago) is back with some new freshness, dropping a lovely new tune last week by the name of 'New Year's Day'.

As we've come to expect from Dream (also known as Ciaran McCarthy), 'New Year's Day' is a subtle mix of downbeat goodness, combining a nodding hip hop beat and layers of keyboard lushness.

The result is a warm, emotive track which is well suited to these days that are a bit more autumn than summer. Turn it on, crank up the heater, sit back and enjoy:

New Years Day by Suburban Dream

As an added bonus, you can also check out another SD tune, 'Modern Ballroom' (which is on the flipside to 'New Year's Day' - hang on, can I call it a flipside for a digital release?) below:

Modern Ballroom by Suburban Dream

If you like what you hear, you can buy 'New Year's Day' and 'Modern Ballroom' by Suburban Dream as part of a two-track package for next to nothing at Beatport now.

Free Download: Thurz - L.A. Riot

Last month, I posted a couple of bits and pieces from Thurz's new LP, L.A. Riot. But don't worry if you didn't purchase what is by all accounts a more than decent LP - because the L.A. MC is now giving it away for free.

Thurz decided that rather than have his hard work pass - which seems him joined by the likes of Black Thought and Strong Arm Steady - under the radar, he'd rather give it away to the masses in order to get his point across.

With that in mind, he's teamed up with DJBooth.net to re-release L.A. Riot, as in his eyes, "music this powerful needs to be in the hands, and headphones, of as many people as possible."

That's a pretty decent gesture by Thurz if you ask me... although you might be a bit annoyed if you paid for it.

Don't worry too much if you did, though. You can bathe in the glow of knowing you've helped a struggling artists. Consider yourself a patron of the arts.

But if you didn't spring for it? Well, it's your luck day. Get in there and download L.A. Riot by Thurz here for a lmited time.

Video: Evidence - 'You'

Time for another DJ Premier banger, you say? Why, certainly. Always happy to oblige.

So without further ado, here's 'You', a nice wee somethin' somethin' from former Dilated Peoples leading light Evidence, complete with resplendent beat by the man who speaks with his hands (that's Primo... stick with me, now).

Truth be told, this is probably more towards the laid back end of the spectrum rather than all out speaker slayer, but it's quality all the same. You know the drill; soulful breaks; cut and diced chorus. Booyakasha.

Oh, and Primo and Evidence have always made a good combination, if you ask me (check 'Clockwork' from the Dilated days). But enough of this inconsequential rambling... on to the video:



'You' will feature on Ev's upcoming album, Cats & Dogs, which will drop on 27 September through his new home, Rhymesayers Entertainment. Check eeeet.

Video: Stalley - 'The Sound Of Silence'

I love 'The Sound Of Silence'. Plain and simple. That, my friends, is why I'm posting what is a rather simple video for this belter of a tune by beard enthusiast and MC on the rise, Stalley.

'The Sound Of Silence' first saw the light of day earlier this year on Stalley's stellar mix tape Lincoln Way Nights, which is apparently being remastered and released via SMC/Fontana on November 1.

Will a remastering make the kids shell out to buy a CD that was available to download for free a few months ago? (Actually, it might still be free to download... find out here) In the age of 128kb MP3s, I say no.

But no matter; the release of this rather plain but nicely shot video (directed by BMike of 2-Cent Films) is a timely reminder that Stalley is one to watch out for: Check it out below:

Video: The Black Keys back for more with Blakroc 2

I've been a little slow to post this up the new Blakroc trailer due difficulties technical and otherwise (technical: new laptop shopping and set up time; otherwise: waiting for my child to be born... where you at bubba?!)

But you don't want excuses... you want results (I could be a politician). So here we go.

As a recap for the slow ones, Blakroc is the side project of The Black Keys, a rather excellent swamp rock (I don't know what else to call it, so shoot me if I've offended anyone with this description) duo.

As we found out in late 2009, the pair - Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney - also like a bit of hip hop. And that's where Blakroc comes in. On another note, where the HELL have the last two years gone? Scary...

While the first Blakroc adventure saw the likes of Mos Def, Q-Tip, Pharoahe Monch, RZA, Raekwon, the late Ol' Dirty Bastard and Jim Jones grace the mic, the second installment has Talib Kweli, U-God, Jay Electronica, OC, Curren$y, Wiz Khalifa, Sean Price and The Cool Kids lined up already.

I'm oldish, so the first line up trumps the second to me. But I'm just being pedantic... this looks like its going to be a fun album when it sees the light of day. Oh, and Jim Jones is also involved once again. Always good for a laugh.

Watch the preview video below, and stay tuned for more details:

Video: Pete Rock & Smif-N-Wessun - 'Roses'

A month of two back, Pete Rock & Smif-N-Wessun showed that old dogs don't always need to learn new tricks in order to make good music.

The veterano trio's collaborative LP, Monumental, certainly features more than a few cuts which show and prove that they still have a lot of fire in the tank.

But if you ask me (and even if you don't, I'm still going to tell you anyway), Monumental's best moment, the superb cut 'Roses', stands head and shoulders above the rest of their work.

'Roses' sees the hip hop planets align beautifully; a top-notch beat from Pete; great verses from Tek and Steele; and a nice cameo from Freeway, yet another old-timer (and an esteemed member of the bearded hip hopper hall of fame... I see you, Rick Ross).

Now, you can add an excellent video into the mix. It's true that black and white film often adds a touch of class to proceedings, and 'Roses' is certainly no exception. Nice. You can watch the full director's cut of 'Roses' by Pete Rock & Smif-N-Wessun below: