Justo x Uncle Fester x DK - Where There's Smoke
Written by Chi Chi Thalken on May 26, 2023
DJ Uncle Fester is a legendary deejay/producer from Halifax, and a founding member of the Backburner collective. His career goes back over two decades, but recently he’s given us projects with Ambeez, Allah Preme, and Aquakulture, just to name a few. Always working on something new, he’s turned right back around to work with producer DK and emcee Justo to give us a new album, Where There’s Smoke.
Justo is an emcee from Brooklyn, best known for his collaborations with producer Maticulous.
Moka Only - If and Of Itself
Written by Chi Chi Thalken on May 25, 2023
Moka Only is a Vancouver artist who has been putting out music steadily since the mid ‘90s. Few artists can even come close to his consistency and his prolific output. Most recently, we heard from him back in December, when he dropped his annual Martian XMAS album. Now he’s back with some summer jams with In and Of Itself.
For the vast majority of his career, Moka Only has stuck to what he knows best, which is some East Coast jazzy boom bap.
s.al - the butterfly effect
Written by Chi Chi Thalken on May 24, 2023
s.al, fka safari al, is an artist originally from Milwaukee, but now based in Minneapolis. He got started over ten years ago, and he’s been part of the Ruby Yacht crew. We just heard from him this past March, when he dropped two short projects, more than human? and sound water. Now he’s come right back with a full-length album, the butterfly effect.
For this project, s.al is teaming up with Irish producer aux phoenix, a musician who got started in the mid-2010s, first playing bass in the Auxilary Phoenix Trio before focusing more on his solo production career.
Dante Ross - Son of the City
Written by Chi Chi Thalken on May 23, 2023
Dante Ross is a guy who has had a long career in the music industry, but his claim to fame is that when he was hired by Tommy Boy in the late ‘80s, he became the first hip hop-specific A&R person. After spending decades at various labels and working with all sorts of great artists, he has finally sat down to write his memoir, Son of the City.
There are a few things to note going into Son of the City.
Claud Six - Good Thing the Long Days Keep Me Awake at Night
Written by Chi Chi Thalken on May 22, 2023
Claud Six is an artist from Portland, Oregon who has been releasing music for over a decade, whether it be as a solo artist or as a member of groups like Jellyfish Brigade, BCxLD, Hives Inquiry Squad, Shut-ins and the Colony, and R4PC4MP. In 2022, he gave us an excellent set of solo releases, In Case We Shouldn’t Make It and Just in Case We Make It. Now he’s back with a short EP, Good Thing the Long Days Keep Me Awake at Night.
The Allergies - Tear the Place Up
Written by Chi Chi Thalken on May 19, 2023
The Allergies are a production duo from Bristol consisting of Rackabeat and DJ Moneyshot. The two have been putting out music for over a decade now. In that time, they’ve shown a penchant for digging for breakbeats and just making some of the funkiest, most danceable records. Most recently, they teased us in January with an EP called Reconcile. Now they are back with the main course, an LP called Tear the Place Up.
Kill Bill: The Rapper - Full Metal Kaiju
Written by Chi Chi Thalken on May 18, 2023
Kill Bill: The Rapper is an artist currently based in South Carolina who has been releasing music since the mid-2010s. He is also one of the founding members of the exociety collective alongside Scuare and Rav. His most recent release came in 2021, when he dropped Snowglobe Theory. Now he’s back with a new project, FULLMETAL KAIJU.
When I first saw the title and the artwork for this project, I was worried that this was going to be some sort of nerdcore/concept album based on an anime or manga that I was not familiar with, and that as a result, the whole project would be lost on me.
Chuck Strangers - The Boys & Girls EP
Written by Chi Chi Thalken on May 18, 2023
Chuck Strangers is a New York artist who emerged in the mid-2010s. He took a real step forward in 2018, when he released his album, Consumers Park, on Nature Sounds. He followed that up in 2020, when he dropped the EP, Too Afraid to Dance. Now he’s back with a new project and making his debut on Lex Records with The Boys & Girls EP.
The Boys & Girls EP is actually named after a high school in Bed Stuy, which might give you a sense of the reflection on his past that Strangers is doing on this EP.
andrew & steel tipped dove - the trumpet's obviously been drinking
Written by Chi Chi Thalken on May 17, 2023
Andrew is an artist from Philadelphia who is relatively new to the scene, only starting to release music in 2019. Since that time, though, he’s caught a lot of different peoples’ ears, working with labels like Cold Rhymes, Three Dollar Pistol, and UDDTBA, and making full-length albums with the likes of Zilla Rocca and Jesse the Tree. Showing absolutely no signs of slowing down, he now hops over to Fused Arrow Records to make an album with steel tipped dove, the trumpet’s obviously been drinking.
Black Taffy - Six Arrows for Naydra
Written by Chi Chi Thalken on May 16, 2023
Black Taffy is a composer/producer from Dallas who started releasing music in the mid-2010s. In 2019, he made his debut on Leaving Records with the release of Elder Mantis. His most recent album came in May of 2020, when he dropped Opal Wand. Now he’s returned with a new EP, Six Arrows for Naydra.
As Black Taffy went into lockdown in 2020, he had never played Zelda before. After three or four months of living by himself with his cat and being uncertain when he’d make contact with another human again, he dove into Breath of the Wild as a form of escape.