Hörselmat - Right On

Nice video clips that I had slept on. How great would it be to go crate digging with Kon & Amir. If you watched the videos you might remember Amir telling a story in the beginning (2:00-2:30 min) of the latter video about a record he bought for 500 bucks. He was having difficulties pronouncing the artist. It spells Hörselmat. Yep, you try pronounce it. I wonder where he got the information about the album cover saying "If there's someone selling this one for over 20 SEK (about 2 USD) don't buy it", because the text on the cover art is in Swedish. Anyhow, it was a funny story at least for Swedish speaking people.

Well, the song is really tight and the album is really rare so Amir spent his money right. The track made it to the CD version of Kon & Amir's compilation Off Track - Volume 1: The Bronx. If you dig the track, the whole album seems to available for dowload here so go get it.

Hörselmat - Right On [320 kbps, zShare]

C-Mon & Kypski - Shitty Bum

I just love the video and the song is great too. The track appears on C-Mon & Kypski's Static Traveller EP that came out in 2004. Download it here.

I would really like to see them live. I've read that they produce songs from scracth on stage with the help of sampling, looping, effects and Kypski's scratching. Their performance is also said to be visually very strong. Sounds like a winner combination. Check out more from their website.

Ray Barretto - Together

It's sunday and I feel like I should post something mellow but I chose to upload two and a half minutes of hard hitting latin funk just because this track is so amazing.

Together is a great tune by Ray Barretto. It originally appeared on his LP Together (Fania Records, 1971). Vampi Soul released a re-issue 7" that has Barretto's 1969 latin soul groover Hard Hands on the b-side.

Ray Barretto - Together [320 kbps, zShare]

Kleeer - Tonight

A whole lot of horrible funk with electric elements was done in the 80's. Luckily there's some amazing stuff as well. Kleeer's Tonight is one of those tracks. For some people, it's the definition of smooth funk and I don't disagree. The tune had an impact on the early classic sound of west coast rap though the band is originally from the east coast. The song dates back to year 1984 when it appeared on Intimate Connection.

Kleeer - Tonight [320 kbps, zShare]

And here's DJ Quick sampling Kleer on Tonite.

Coffee Breaks, pt. 4

My first intention was to acclaim David Ruffin and his past-Motown works. He's an amazing vocalist. There's something special about his voice, whether he's the frontman of the Temptations or going solo after he got sacked from the band. So there I was, choosing a proper song to upload and remembered that 9th Wonder sampled David Ruffin's Slow Dance a couple of years ago so I decided to continue the series of posts called Coffee Breaks.

Slow Down is soul music with capital letters. David Ruffin's voice is full of pain and pleasure at the same time. The song appears on Gentleman Ruffin that came out in 1980.

Slow It Down is a track produced by 9th Wonder and performed by Little Brother. The song appears on The Minstrel Show that came out in 2005. The beat is tight as **** so I also uploaded the instrumental that appears on this one.

David Ruffin - Slow Dance [320 kbps, zShare]

Little Brother - Slow It Down (instrumental) [320 kbps, zShare]

Little Brother - Slow It Down (album version) [320 kbps, zShare]

The Natural Four - Try Love Again

Try Love Again is a lovely mid-tempo soul tune that appears on The Natural Four's self-titled album. The song is arranged and produced by Leroy Hutson. It was released by Curtom Records in 1974. A shorter version of the song appears on the flipside of Can This Be Real. The album is full of quality tunes but for some reason it wasn't commercially successful back in the day and it's hard to find these days. Well, the 7" is easier and cheaper to obtain.

The Natural Four - Try Love Again [320 kbps, zShare]

The Main Ingredient - Evening Of Love

A fantastic, foot stomping soulful boogie track from The Main Ingredient with Cuba Gooding on the vocals. The song appears on their 1981 album I Only Have Eyes For You. Though it's a killer tune it wasn't originally released as a single but Expansion Records did us a favor and released a 7" version of Evening Of Love.

The Main Ingredient - Evening Of Love (album version) [320 kbps, DivShare]

In The Mix...Stevie Wonder

Here's a couple of my favorite Stevie Wonder edits/remixes. It's hard to rework on such classics without raping them but these guys have really done it right. It takes a lot of skills and love for music to get it right.

Stevie Wonder - Superstition (Todd Terje Edit) [320 kbps, zShare]

Todd Terje is a master of re-edits. He seems to be able to take any classic tune, rework on it heavily and still make it work.

Stevie Wonder - Uptight (B.Cause Fraze Ruff Ride Refix) [320 kbps, zShare]

DJ B.Cause, one of my favorite DJ's around, has done an excellent uptempo remix of Uptight that's heavy on the bass.

Stevie Wonder - All I Do (U-Tern Disco Edit) [320 kbps, zShare]

This one's amazing. A solid disco/boogie version by DJ U-Tern. It has a nice and long intro and outro making it dj friendly.

Ben Westbeech - So Good Today (featuring The Dap-Kings)

Here's a perfect soundtrack for this morning. The feel good song of the year. Ok, it came out last year but it's all so good today.

Ben Westbeech - So Good Today (featuring The Dap-Kings) [320 kbps, zShare]

Coffee Breaks, pt. 3

It's been a couple of weeks since the last coffee break so I think it's time to take one.

Juicy Fruit by Mtume was a # 1 RnB hit back in the day (1983). The album is pretty mediocre but I like the keyboards and drum machines on it, especially on the title track. The version I'm sharing is the extended vocal mix taken from the 12".

The sample song isn't one of my biggest favorites so the reason I chose this is my love for Biggie's 1994 banger Juicy. If I would get into making top 10 lists, Juicy would most definitely be on the top 10 rap tracks of the 90's. The album version is good, no doubt about it, but Pete Rock's remix is solid gold.

Mtume - Juicy Fruit (12" Vocal Version) [320 kbps, zShare]

The Notorious B.I.G. - Juicy (Pete Rock Remix) [320 kbps, zShare]

The Notorious B.I.G - Juicy (Dirty Mix) [320 kbps, zShare]

Bounce Camp - Big Dancin

The hardest rocking party collective/dj team at the moment is without a doubt Top Billin. Besides throwing great parties, they have also actively released some amazing EP's.

They recently released six party anthems on a 12" called Sexytime EP. The tracks on the record are great but what really impressed me was the moment when I first pulled out the record from the sleeve and realized that it's pressed on PINK VINYL. If you ask me, that's sexy. Here's a little treat from the EP. Big Dancin is a certified banger by Bounce Camp.

Bounce Camp - Big Dancin [320 kbps, zShare]

I also got a request to make. Gil-Scott Heron & Brian Jackson's album 1980 features a dope track called Willing. Top Billin sampled studiously this track which appears on this EP. Both tracks are off the hook but I don't have the original on vinyl plus I only have a crappy quality file of the song. So if you happen to have a good quality file, I would appreciate if you could send it to me via my dropbox or email.

Top Billin - Willing [320 kbps, zShare]

Gwen Guthrie appreciation

During the last couple of weeks I've been really feeling Gwen Guthrie's solo material so I decided to devote a post to her. I should devote this post also to Larry Levan's mixing and Sly & Robbie's production because those are the key elements that make these tunes excellent.

It Should Have Been You (Larry Levan Mix) - Gwen Guthrie [320 kbps, zShare]

Padlock (Larry Levan Mix) - Gwen Guthrie [320 kbps, zShare]

Seventh Heaven (Larry Levan) - Gwen Guthrie [320 kbps, zShare]

Ain't Nothin' Goin' On But The Rent (Larry Levan Mix) - Gwen Guthrie [320 kbps, zShare]

These two songs are courtesy of DJ U-Tern. The first one is a great edit of this one and the second one is a banging blend.

Peanut Butter (DJ U-Tern Edit) - Gwen Guthrie [320 kbps, zShare]

Gwen Guthrie vs. Daft Punk (Club Version) - DJ U-Tern [320 kbps, zShare]

Keni Burke - Hang Tight

I've earlier posted another track from Keni Burke that wasn't Risin' To The Top. I have nothing against that particular song. I just feel that Burke deserves attention and credit beyond that one song because he's an amazing song writer/producer/all around musician.

Hang Tight is a great uptempo tune full of 80's groove. It appears on Burke's best-seller Changes. There are a couple of 12" pressings of Risin' To The Top and Hang Tight appears on the b-side of this one.

Keni Burke - Hang Tight [320 kbps, zShare]

Jill Scott - Golden (Kenny Dope Official Remix)

I love Jill Scott and I admire Kenny Dope so when you put these two together you'll have to end up with something extraordinary. And you do; this Dopewax 12" features amazing Kenny Dope remixes of Golden and Not Like Crazy. The record came out in 2005 but it still feels fresh. Original versions of these two songs are from Jill Scott's album Beautifully Human.

Jill Scott - Golden (Kenny Dope Official Remix) [320 kbps, zShare]

Jill Scott - Not Like Crazy (Kenny Dope Crazy Woo Mix) [320 kbps, zShare]