It’s important to realize that creating something you love is the main purpose of making music. If you wouldn’t bump it on repeat how the hell can you expect someone else to?
—The Last Skeptik
The Last Skeptik 'Thanks For Trying' Q&A
Next month London’s own The Last Skeptik will drop his first instrumental solo album Thanks For Trying with BBE records, so here is a little feature and Q&A I did with Skeptik in anticipation of the release …
All I really have to do is be honest, and hopefully you’ll get the joke. I don’t intentionally offend and it’s because I feel that most people who are going to listen to my music are intelligent. So, it’s made with a respect to the listener.
—Mr Len, on striking the balance with humour in his music.
Sunday interview buddy Mr Len .. x
Mr Len Interview
I remember discovering Company Flow’s Funcrusher Plus back in my final year as an undergrad, and how quickly I became obsessed with it’s unique atmosphere. Hard-hitting beats, subtle nuances, smart lyrics, and refreshing rawness permeate the whole record.
It was an absolute pleasure to chat to Mr Len earlier this month for Wax Poetics about his latest project The Marvels of Yestermorrow. The instrumental EP, coming out with High Water Music (shout out Sucio!), is a brilliantly experimental and creative work. Read the interview to learn more…
It seems to me like the expression is neither intentional nor deliberately nonconforming. I think these artists are just pure originals.
—L.A. Jay, on the artists in the Anomalous jazz mix.
Mixtape cover art (an homage to Thelonious Monk), and me with L.A. Jay in September 2012 x
"Anomalous" A Jazz Mix by John "L.A. Jay" Barnes III
In Autumn 2012 when I was working out in Los Angeles for a few months, my friend John (aka L.A. Jay) began running some ideas for a jazz mixtape by me, and in the process educating me on the aural wonders of artists like Sun Ra and Mulata Astatke.
Earlier this year we decided to share the final Anomalous mix with Wax Poetics, so take a listen and read the feature to learn more about the music and L.A. Jay…
Top 5 : Political Bay Area Videos (curated by Chazz Shabazz)
When my Bay Area homie Chazz Shabazz dropped the video for his song “Militant,” I was struck by his use of imagery from the Black Panther era. Thinking on the lineage of the Black Arts Movement and old-school hip-hop into the new, I asked Chazz to select his five favourites music videos with political overcurrents. And, I was humbled by the poignancy and personal tone of his response. Check the feature out for some profound insights into the work of E-40, Tupac, Spice1, Paris, and The Click…
Countless Gems .. x
