The Musik Lounge

In today’s age of constant content it’s hard to imagine artists taking their time, allowing their star to fade in the name of cultivating worthwhile art. Blu & Exile did just that as a duo, of course they have both maintained solo careers - although I can’t tell you much of what that entails for Exile, Blu has consistently delivered projects that are all worth your time. Since Below the Heavens release in 2007, a beautiful slice of boom bap soul, fans have been clamoring for more. 2012’s Give Me My Flowers While I Can Still Smell Them didn’t suffice for most - I’m not sure I even listened to it until today, definitely worth the reinvestigation. The interim time has allowed both parties to grow up, live life and come back together, admittedly disconnected and in need of some time to find their groove once more. Find it they did, via some heavenly influences by the sonic textures of one Miles Davis. Thus Miles , their monstrous new “double” LP arrives exactly when it was supposed t...

"Get Lost" by Will J. A chopped vocal sample plays in the background, my partner reads her book and the world spins. To some out of control, to others it’s unfolding exactly how it is supposed to. We are months into the COVID days and all I know is that creativity is flowing. It’s often hard to pinpoint when what we are exposed to was actually created, we have projects like folklore & How I’m Feeling Now which the creatives behind are explicitly detailing how they were made under state mandated lockdown. Black is King just released and while clearly an undertaking long before the pandemic, it speaks to now in ways that imply crystal ball like foresight. Or, sadly, just an awareness of what being black in America means. The point is that while holed up in our homes we can only scroll, stream & tik tok for so long before our minds need something else - and we all have something creative inside of us whether we embrace it or get paid for it. And unlike any other era ...

Take a music bath once or twice a week for a few seasons. You will find it is to the soul what a water bath is to the body. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes Oh shit! It took me far to long to get up in here with November's heatrocks. Y'all didn't really think I'd drop October on ya and split? Yeah, I feel you. But I didn't I'm right here! November was great and in getting settled back in Seattle I also got to catch up on music both locally and nationally. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm getting heavy into some electronic tunes. Towards the beginning of the month I was listening to this comp Aquatic Lab Sessions and the track “Right Here” from Flash just struck me. Reminding me of Burial and why I got into dubstep to begin with this song is haunting. The vocals will stick with you and the beat is hypnotic. Great stuff! Yesterday I took the time to give BK-One's album Radio Do Canibal a spin and it rocks. Another great release from RSE this year. What else is ...