The Musik Lounge

  Just a quick couple videos for your sunny afternoon enjoyment! La Recre is a French jazz duo I've been watching this year. Everything they lay down is beautiful. So dope to hear what can be done with just some keys and drums. Of course for this tune, "Banger," they bring a killer horn section to liven up the studio and give life to the mellow groove. I dig these guys because the piano player set's a vibe with his atmospheric playing and the drummer gives the tune life with his fills but falls back in the pocket and let's the energy build. Just give it a listen and be sure to pre order their new EP dropping in October - only 300 pressed. I'm not sure when I first got hip to Def Sound, but I feel like every time I put on one of his jams (of which there are many) I can't help but smile. He captures positive vibrations and an up beat mood constantly. This tune is fun on it's own but his idea of capturing friends grooving in their own safe spaces was bril...

"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 ...

“Music makes me happy...” It’s 3 AM and the rain is falling as I put the needle to the grooves of Evidence’s The Weatherman LP - an album I’ve consistently kept in my ears since its release thirteen years ago. It captures a grimey west coast style of production rarely found on other LA releases. The mood is set via heavy drums, rattling bass and knocking syths. Tunes are bright, banging and uplifting. Samples interspersed with original compositions, a production style that today seems commonplace but was just beginning to evolve upon the album's release. It’s an album for the ages. It’s an album for quarantine. I’m on day 14 of no work due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No lies, the first week I treated it like a vacation, processing heartbreak I ignored the warnings and did not practice social distancing one bit. The sun was out in the Pacific Northwest and I stayed surrounded by friends, hitting parks and inviting people over for communal meals. I kept my usual mix ...