The Musik Lounge

Where to begin? In certain hiphop circles the name J Dilla rings out above all others. Upon his passing in 2006 there was an endless stream of knock offs looking to generate some hype off the man's steez and deliver lazy interpolations of his timeless sound. Of course these projects were so numerous in the end little of it stuck around - although a few are still doing their thing today and some have taken that initial inspiration to realms unimaginable at the time. Jay Dee was a savant with the MPC. His ability to capture loops, flip drums and bang out rhythms on a machine with the feel of a real drummer only begins to scratch the surface of what it was he cooked up. The beats were soulful, smooth, rugged, classic hiphop that could be touched by emcee’s and vocalists alike. His list of collaborators is lauded. His impact on music as a whole is unquestioned. Alas this isn’t about the man, as more words have been shed on him than ever needed to be. The music speaks for itself. Go li...

   Mizo & I connect! We were debating how best to approach a year end retrospective and I think we found the most fitting way - how we always do around here. Show up to the lounge with a crates of records (this time strictly new records) and let the musical vibes speak to us. We knew we couldn't cram all the sounds we found this year into just one mix so be sure to tune in next week as we hit you with part 2! This edition is up and down like a roller coaster, so many styles and artists covered. You get our typical leanings into jazz and rap as well as some other excursions into other random styles that struck our fancy. It's a journey that's all about the path. Press play and walk with us y'all.

  “So all a man could win in the conflict between plague and life was knowledge and memories.” -Albert Camus, The Plague As the pacific northwest hits its fleeting moments of intense heat, sounds continue to shed solace and energy to the scenario. As I sit in an artificially chilled space and vibe to the sounds of Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids I can’t help but think about the world around me.  Yesterday was filled with the sounds of nature as I floated along a river, laughing, conversing, meditating, praying. A little more than a week ago it was the waves of the Pacific crashing against the shore not 100 feet away from where I slept. Sometimes the music of my life isn’t coming out of the stereo but from those around me and my surroundings. Of course a speaker is never far from my ears and I like to soundtrack my life. I sat on that shoreline and read Camus as the Budos Band jammed. A group that has always been in my awareness but never really gotten the attention they de...

I hate writing about people I know nothing about. Perhaps it's because it forces me to focus solely on the music. Gonjasufi's debut album A Sufi and A Killer solves that problem by being across the board the most eclectic album full of disparte sounds I've ever heard. It's heavy, melodic, soulful and moody just at the surface. Digging deeper will only make you sink further into the maze of musical styles prevalent here. Gonjasufi is a dreaded man and sings hauntingly poetic verses over LA beat scene canvases that sound as though they were made specifically for the man to make his own. The album opens with a recording of chanting, while the title references an acient Indian dancing tradition. " Ancestors " was the first song to leak from the project and it's a great choice as it's one of the most straight forward and melodic songs on the album. Over a chopped guitar and piano sample along with gritty and stuttering drums Gonjasufi sings about those tha...