featured releases
CD (Stones Throw)
29 year old Michigan native Mayer Hawthorne aka Drew Cohen has been honing his chops throughout California, settling in L.A. as DJ Haircut over the last few years. His sample-heavy style of funky soul production caught the ear of Peanut Butter Wolf, who commissioned an album from the fresh face. A Strange Arrangement draws heavily from those that Cohen admires; Smokey Robinson, Curtis Mayfield & most notably, Stevie Wonder. The uplifting, half-light-hearted vibes of these artists are felt throughout, with deft attention to the vintage funk/soul sound that has been popularized recently by artists like Sharon Jones & the like, although Mayer Hawthorne is a more pop & soft-soul than hard-hitting funk. Fresh.
Mayer Hawthorne on MySpace
8 January 2010 by Jeremy Robinson
| Jazz / Soul / Funk, Pop / Rock
(Heads Up) CD & 2LP
This behemoth of a jazz trio decides to again make a drastic break-screeching turnaround – on For All I Care they add vocalist Wendy Lewis. Continuing on their path of unmatched virtuosity, the playing here is insanely on point. The covers are still here — “Lithium” by Nirvana & Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” are, well, demolished in horrifically awesome ways — and so are the proggy intricacies (“Semi-Simple Variation”). As always, no overdubs or edits here, these dudes still cling to that seemingly vanishing vestige: they can play the shit out of their instruments.
Playing Alix Goolden Hall in March!!!
Listen here...
5 February 2009 by Chris Long
| Jazz / Soul / Funk
(Vice) CD & 2LP
The mysterious King Khan, a native Montrealer, leads this wild pack (they’re a 10-piece!) of psychedelic garage dogs. This is as authentic as it gets for modern garage revival – a healthy mess of R&B is littered all over The Shrines’ racket of jangly guitars & blaring horns. Here, VICE capitalizes on a brilliant (but historically hard to obtain) back catalog & compiles the good stuff into one wholesome meal. For fans of Black Lips, The Sonics & quality 60’s-influenced racket in general. Please listen. You will likey.
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19 June 2008 by Chris Long
| Jazz / Soul / Funk, Pop / Rock
(Motown) CD & LP
Quirky? Sure, but over the years, Erykah Badu has managed to avoid straying from her path of integrity & focus on music. On New Amerykah, Badu enlists A-List production to backdrop her brilliant ideas; Sa Ra, ?uestlove & 9th Wonder are on point (especially on the heartfelt ode to J Dilla “Telephone”), but it’s “The Healer/Hip Hop” that makes you wish that Madlib would give up Quasimoto’s godforsaken ghost & just focus on working with bonafied artists like Badu (and Doom of course). Badu turns in some great beats herself (check Tribe Called Quest Midnight Marauders-era vibe of “The Cell”…) for a great synthesis of her individual voice & oooweeoo steez with warm, rhythmically rich hip-hop production.
Listen here...
29 April 2008 by Chris Long
| Hip-Hop, Jazz / Soul / Funk
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