New Music: Home Brew - 'Plastic Magic'

Tuesday is fast becoming Brews Day in this part of the world, thanks to the Home Brew crew's recent series of leaked cuts and b-sides.

The Home Brewers know that Tuesday can be tough, so they kindly release a wee present to the masses on what is traditionally the crappest day of the week. Bless.

This week's Brews Day offering sees the boys link up with fellow Auckland geezer Christoph El Truento to record 'Plastic Magic', a more subdued affair than recent single 'Yellow Snot Funk'.

New Music: Gorillaz (Feat. James Murphy & Andre 3000) – 'DoYaThing'

This is a combination that's been waiting to happen: Andre 3000 of Outkast and James Murphy, former front man of LCD Soundsystem on the same track? Maybe not standard AGOMWAB fare, but worth a listen in my book.

Zane Lowe debuted the cut in question - 'DoYaThing, which is actually a Gorillaz song featuring James and Dre - on his BBC1 radio show recently (I can't be more specific - the time difference calculation is hurting my head).

Video: Yasiin Bey (A.K.A. Mos Def) - Niggas In Poorest

Yasiin Bey - the artist formerly known by most as Mos Def, but  still known by me as Mos Def if I'm being honest - is noodling around with a new series that goes by the name of Top 40 Underdog.

To cut to the chase, the series sees Mos - whoops, I mean Yasiin - carrying on hip hop's rich tradition of M.C.s taking a song and putting their own spin on it.

Mos (Yasiin! I mean Yasiin!) is focusing his energies on reinterpreting hits, and first off the rank is a rework of Jay-Z and Kanye Wests' 'Ni**as in Paris'.

New Music: Tyga - 'Kings & Queens' (Feat. Nas & Wale)

Young Money youngster Tyga - all 21 years of him - might not be the right demographic for this here site. But throw in comparative old timer Nas and you've got yourself a ball game.

Wee Tygs has joined forces with Nasir and super star in the making Wale to record 'Kings & Queens', a jazzy, vibe-laden beauty of a tune produced by Arthur McArthur.

Video: Home Brew - 'Yellow Snot Funk'

Saying that Auckland crew Home Brew's soon-to-be-released album is hotly anticipated here in Nu Zulland seems like a bit of an understatement.

From what I can see, the locals are fairly fizzing - and that's not going to subside following the release of the first video for this project.

'Yellow Snot Funk' is vintage Home Brew, with a horn-laced beat produced by Dandruffdicky that's easy on the ears, complimenting down to earth vocals from M.C. Tom (who regular readers will recognise from the excellent @peace project).

Sunday Jazz: Taco Truck - J.D's Jam (Mixtape)

It's been a long while since I've churned out a Sunday Jazz post, but after an evening with approximately two hours sleep (goooo teething/ill baby!), I figured I'd share the soothing sounds that are on repeat at my gaff today.

Those of you who are in or have been through Auckland in the last few months might have come across the Taco Truck, a Sunday afternoon get together that goes down roughly every month.

New Music: Wio-K - 'Can't Work [Remix]' & 'Bottom Line'

Wio-K, the mystery man of Toronto who has shown up on this site a fair few times over the last couple of years, sent through a few tracks earlier this week.

What do I know about them? Well, nothing, really.

Not much in the way of a description that will entice you into pressing play or download, is it? Maybe not, but fight through the lethargy and do it anyway - because they're both worth it.

New Music: James Blake - 'I Never Learnt To Share' (M-Phazes Rework)

When James Blake released his debut self-titled LP this time last year, he quickly became a firm favourite of many a music nerd, myself included.

But as excellent as James Blake the album is, it kind of fell off the play list after burning brightly on my iPod for a few months. In the end, it ended up being a little too wishy washy, I guess.

Australian producer M-Phazes may share my view, if his rework of Blake's 'I Never Learnt To Share' is anything to go by.

New Music: Kendrick Lamar – 'Cartoon and Cereal'

After winning all sorts of praise for his excellent Section.80 mix tape last year, Compton kid Kendrick Lamar has just set off on tour with fellow blog dah-lings A$AP Rocky and Drake.

But instead of celebrating with a bottle of bubbly or a nice cup of tea (or however it is that hip hop folk celebrate these days), he's decided to let off a new tune for the masses to tuck into.

'Cartoon & Cereal' showcases one of the more interesting MCs of the moment doing the damn thing over a low and slow, ethereal beat (which on first listen sounds a tad more menacing than a lot of his earlier work).

Video: Jay-Z & Kanye West - Ni**as In Paris

You know there's some excessive strobe action on the horizon when a video comes with a warning about possibly inducing epileptic fits. But then I guess Jay-Z and Kanye West aren't really ones to do things half-heartedly, are they?

The new video for the pair's rather large tune 'Ni**as In Paris' hit the web earlier today. And as you can probably guess, its rather slick, with all sorts of kaleidoscopic effects in the mix to mess with your mind.

Mix Tape: The Next Movement - Robert Glasper Mix‏ (Mixed by DJ Radhu)

The fine folk at Bamalovesoul.com have been most kind in sending over their latest mixtape, The Next Movement, which sees lead Bamalover DJ Radhu string together a bevvy of cuts from jazzman supreme Robert Glasper.

Glasper is a bit of a big deal in the jazz world, with his silky keyboard skills crossing the bridge between traditional jazz noodlings and more modern-day, hip hop influenced joints.

With Glasper's fifth album, Black Radio, set to drop at the end of the month, Radhu decided to give him a helping hand on the promo front by selecting 17 top tunes from the jazzman's previous 4 albums, live performances and appearances on other peoples' albums.

Video: The Do Over New Zealand

Last Saturday, the crew from The Do Over - the most legendary of legendary parties in my book - got on a boat and headed out to Waiheke Island, not far from Auckland, New Zealand, to stage one of their top grade throw downs.

Being that Auckland is my new home, I decided it would be rude not to down daddy duties for the day (shout out to my lovely, understanding wifey!) and get in some island time.

Video: James Lavelle on All Saints Basement Sessions

It's been a minute since we've dipped into the All Saints Basement Sessions, but the latest sit-down with the mighty James Lavelle - he of many musical hats - seems like as good a place as any.

As most readers of this blog (I see you, old beardos) are probably aware, James is the man behind the seminal Mo Wax label, which broke more ground than a ground breaking thing back in the 90's and onwards.