The Social Service brings free, fresh beats from likes of Samiyam, Dibia$e and others

Samiyam, Dibiase, Computer Jay, Mophono – Feb. 12 via 12 Bar @ 608 Fulton

At this point in the game it’s pretty easy to sound cool when someone mentions experimental hip-hop or the beat scene. Practically anyone can namedrop 4 or 5 artists off of Brainfeeder and make a joke about the Gaslamp Killer’s mustache, but The Social Service is staying one step ahead—showcasing the genre’s experimental hip-hop roots and demonstrating once again that they know what the fuck is up.

Samiyam is the guy who isn't Flying Lotus

I can’t begin to understand how an experimental hip-hop track is composed, but I do know that I've listened to so much of it that when I drink enough around the right people I sound like a huge retard: “OH SO YOU KNOW THAT WAHBWAHB SOUND ON ZODIAC SHIT? YEAH WELL COMPUTER JAY USED THAT SAME SAMPLE ON EPIPHANY!!” I’m bringing this up because there might be a lot of that kind of talk at this show—it’s a history lesson on the future of electronic music, if that makes any sense.  While each artist has his own style, they have a lot in common; that is, the Adult Swim, weeded-out, lumbering golem beat that’s ever so slightly “off” mixed with moments of classic turntablism and a drums-and-right-hand-only-synth minimalism.

Dibiase

Dibiase (his name seems to carry a random amount of attached dollar signs and “Mr.”s) named himself after an extra-gimmicky professional wrestler from the 80s and laces his beats with video game noises from the era—which is even cooler when you know he’s been doing it for more than a decade, way before the current 8-bit craze.

Computer Jay and Mophono both have a chance to be this show’s Mono/Poly (readers will remember him  as the guy who no one went to see, but was also who this blog thought stole the show), but the titan here is, without question, Samiyam. He’s been collaborating with Flying Lotus—as FLYamSAM for at least three years now, and has also released the amazing track “Eff This,” which was a collaboration with Hudson Mohawke. He has also boosted his resume with releases on the UK's Hyperdub label--which is where Burial and Zomby among others released their tunes.

Also Dibiase

Anyway, we’ve completely neglected to tell you that the show is completely free if you “like” The Social Service’s Facebook page and RSVP to the Facebook event.

Computer Jay (note: no actual computers in this photo)

RSVP here — Event Page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=170196466334759

“Like” this — The Social Service’s Page: http://www.facebook.com/socialservicenola

-Article by Jeffrey Silberman

art/official Proudly Presents: G-Eazy

Gerald Gillum, aka G-Eazy, is a rapper, producer, and performer from Bay Area California who currently resides in New Orleans, Louisiana. When he isn’t busy hitting the books at Loyola University, where he is pursuing a degree in music business, G passes his time writing, recording, and performing refreshingly coherent and honest rap songs that have already earned him a good deal of national acclaim.  The young rapper has been lucky enough thus far to share a stage with big names like Girl Talk, Curren$y, Drake, Mike Jones, and Juvenile, effectively proving that he has a bright future ahead of himself.

If nothing else, Gillum is evidence to the improbable notion that the two conflicting lifestyles of student and rapper can be successfully lived by one person, and that’s quite an accomplishment in itself. Furthermore, these two seemingly incompatible lifestyles feed off of each other in a completely symbiotic and healthy way; the half way normal life lead by Gillum as a student and “self-doubting” young adult often times provides him with the inspiration needed to orchestrate his music.

**Also be sure to check out the track live from Electronic TKVR by clicking here!


Below, we turn the spotlight onto this champion of New Orleans and ask him a few questions of our own:

toro y moi: "new beat"

"new beat" = new sound

the dodos: "black night"

though their third attempt in 2009, time to die, wasn't nearly as impressive as their 2007 breakout, visiter, the dodos are back again in 2011 with their fourth studio album, no color. fortunately, the first taste from the album, "black night," is reminiscent of the sound that made visiter so great; hope to hear good things. no color drops march, 15.

bibio: announces new album / video

the european electronic producer, bibio, is definitely one of our favorite artists here on the site. so his latest album, mind bokeh, which will drop on march 29th here in the states is very exciting news for us. the albums first track, "excuses," already has a video and is posted below for your aesthetic pleasure. enjoy!

concert review: yo la tengo

Last Saturday night indie rock veterans Yo La Tengo played a sold-out show at the legendary Tipitina’s uptown. This stop in New Orleans was a little more than halfway through what one could call a kind of “concept tour.” Nowadays, when Yo La Tengo play shows, they usually consist of some choice numbers from whatever their new album happens to be, and then some choice numbers from their expansive (and awesome) back catalog and arsenal of covers; but they decided to change things up a little bit on this go around. The Hoboken, New Jersey trio played a typical set, but only after they did something a little outside of the box. Here’s the premise: the first thing they do is bring a “Wheel Of Fortune” / “The Price Is Right” / “Insert other game show here” style wheel onstage, then they pick an audience member to spin it, and whatever space it lands on dictates the first 45 minutes of their set. The options are as follows:

- A show from their garage rock alter-ego band Condo Fucks
- A set of bassist James McNew’s solo project Dump
- A musically-interluded Q&A sesh with the audience
- A set of YLT songs comprised only of songs that include people’s names
- The band and crew’s reenactment of a classic sitcom
- A set of songs that start with the letter “S”
- A live performance of music the band composed for the film The Sounds Of Science







Right before the wheel was spun, when the band was going over the options, they made a few offhand remarks about how they hoped the “The Freewheelin’ of Yo La Tengo,” their name for the Q&A sesh with the audience, would not happen, so, of course, that was the one that the wheel decided to choose for them. There’s a lot of potential with an option like this, meaning potential for quality questions with informative responses, as well as potential for dumb questions and disinterested answers. Unfortunately, the result leaned more towards the latter on Saturday night. Topics covered included Sarah Palin, Jersey Shore, and favorite ice cream flavors (which sadly, was probably the best one). Both the audience and band seemed to grow slightly frustrated, so suffice it to say, when the band’s real set finally rolled around, everyone was in a much better mood. Here’s to Yo La Tengo carrying on and making phenomenal music, and not showing up on Game Show Network anytime soon.

Yo La Tengo delivered. Their timeless music really comes to life in a live setting. It was mesmerizing to watch bassist James McNew and drummer Georgia Hubley effortlessly play such laid back, lovely rhythm grooves, with guitarist Ira Kaplan fucking shredding on top of them. It might be no mistake that their lyrical content oftentimes tackles issues that come to the surface in long-term relationships, demonstrating that even over a strong foundation all kinds of raucous, unpredictable conflict can occur. This juxtaposition of quiet and loud really defines Yo La Tengo, and is a key reason why they’ve been around for over two decades. Stand out songs included the delightfully bluesy “Periodically Triple or Double” from 2009’s Popular Songs (their most recent LP), classics “Sugarcube” and “Beanbag Chair,” then a killer cover of “Bad Politics” by Dead Seas. All members got a chance at the mic, which offered an intriguing look into an already dynamic band. Yo La Tengo are living legends, and despite a few nominal issues, everyone in attendance on Saturday bore witness to an excellent show put on by a band who consistently has, and continues to, etch their names into the history books of music.

- Article and Photos by Connor Crawford

fleet foxes announce new album

i've been waiting for this day for what seems like forever now; fleet foxes announce their new album, which will drop sometime this summer (May 2 in the U.K.). you can stream and download (artwork included also) the first released track from the album below. sometimes it seems like these guys know, through some strange collective consciousness, exactly what i'm going through; and they make my disposition sound so damn good:

"Yeah I'm tongue tied and dizzy,
And I can't keep it to myself.
What good is it to sing helplessness blues?
Why should I wait for anyone else?

And I know, I know you will keep me on the shelf,
I'll come back to you someday soon myself."

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues by subpop

best coast / wavves show review

This week lo-fi lovebirds Wavves and Best Coast performed at the House of Blues, delivering the sun drenched blend of rock they're known best for; record mates No Joy opened. This being my second time to see Wavves, I knew what to expect: a good deal of dancing and sing alongs. They played several tracks off the new album King Of the Beach, and favorites such as "No Hope Kids" and "California Goths", ending with new single "Post Acid". Best Coast was last to play, taking us to chill town with songs like "Boyfriend" and "When i'm With You", as well as a handful of new ones, even performing a cover of country artist Loretta Lynn's "Fist City". Though Nathan didn't come join her on stage for a cute little duet encore, the Cali natives brought spectacularly energetic performances.




- Article by Justin Braud- Photos by Joshua Brasted- Composed by Justen Cheney

For more pictures from the show,

check out Joshua's Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brasted/

 

I can't help but shake my rump.

I love disco so much. Check out the newest mix-tape by The Magician. Unreal!

Magic Tape Seven by TheMagician