Lord knows where or how I discovered this gem, but I was digging through my notes of  ’things to post on ye olde bloge’ and came upon this bookmark. Sinitus Tempo makes jazzy, downtempo beats with a hip-hop flavor. Peaceland is just one of several releases you’ll find on the Bandcamp page, all of a similar ilk.

And honestly, that’s about all I know about this person. So I’ll let the music speak for itself….

I get a lot of emails through this blog from a lot of artists trying to get attention for their little piece of the internet. I try and listen to what I can. Very generally speaking, most of it is mediocre at best. Few make the cut onto these hallowed digital pages ;) However, it’s always super-rewarding to find a gem amongst them all. Maehlib, AKA Thomas Kaske, is one of these cases. He sent me a track via SoundCloud and I was immediately intrigued by his atmospheric, downtempo hip-hop beats. Leaning heavily on jazz, Maehlib creates layered, head-nodding soundscapes. He’s quite a mysterious character, with almost no information about him available online. However he was kind enough to provide me the details over email.

Born and raised in East Germany, he moved to Berlin after school. He began DJ-ing at age 14, and then started to make beats 2 or 3 years ago, after being introduced to production by his brother, an electronic music producer. The two collaborate as odd/even. As you may guess from listening to his music, he is inspired by Madlib, hence the similar name.

You will find a collection of his beats available for download via his BandCamp page, and each one comes with different cover art which he also designed. The cinematic nature of his beats may be explained by the fact that he is studying film along with anthropology, so you’ll find a wide variety of samples in his music, from academics like Mcluhan or Niklas Luhmann to African music.

I highly recommend you check him out, and then let me know what you think in the comments.

This was a nice treat in the ole’ inbox today. Mr J.Rawls hooked me up with this new beat collection, courtesy of Polar Ent & Mighty Healthy NYC – Hotel Beats Vol. 1. This collection shows off Rawls’ diversity, featuring bright jazz-heavy beats (“Red Pepper”)  alongside darker fare (“Casina”) which will satisfy hip-hop heads with an edgier taste. Then there’s tracks like “A Game” which are ready for a dope singer or MC to take to yet another level, along with the funk-laden “Hold On To It.”

Download J. Rawls – Hotel Beats Vol 1

So yeah, good stuff as always from J.Rawls!
More info: www.myspace.com/jrawls

I’ve been having a serious Jose James phase as of late, and it’s a wonderful thing. Here’s two new jams from the man with the butter-voice, that will have you falling in love with him all over again. Props to HoneySoul for turning me on to “Lay You Down”. I believe this one will be on his forthcoming album (due September I think). “Jazzy Joint” is a track featuring Jose James by J.A.M. – the piano trio from Soil & Pimp Sessions.Both tracks provide perfect summer listening.

Jose James – Lay You Down
[See post to listen to audio]

J.A.M. ft. Jose James – Jazzy Joint
[See post to listen to audio]

Purchase Jose James’ excellent album The Dreamer

I first about this innovative jazz collective, as many did, through Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide radio show several years ago. Now they finally have their first official US release Planet Pimp coming out on Koch Records, February 24th. Here’s the official bio from the band and below that, check the video for the first single “Storm.”

SOIL & “PIMP” SESSIONS is an explosive Japanese jazz band, comprised of six musicians; Shacho (agitator, spirit), Tabu Zombie (trumpet), Motoharu (sax), Josei (piano), Akita Goldman (bass) and Midoryn (drums).

At its core, the group is about giving pulsating live performances. SOIL & “PIMP” SESSIONS combine the highest musicianship with the coolest of cool sounds and atmosphere. Their brand of jazz is rough around the edges, unadulterated entertainment and constantly kept at boiling point.

Each member brings his own unique talent and perspective. They originally met at a club event in Tokyo in 2001. The Tokyo club scene was dominated by DJs until SOIL & “PIMP” SESSIONS arrived, breaking the mold as live pioneers. Calling their music “DEATH JAZZ”, they gained recognition for performing an original form of aggressive alternative jazz.

“We always felt that in the world of jazz, there was an unwritten rule that the musicians were to concentrate on their techniques and the audience were simply there to admire, like a transmitter/ receiver relationship. We wanted to break away from that and create exciting jazz with far more interaction between the players and the audience”.

It did not take long for SOIL & “PIMP” SESSIONS to become one of the hottest new bands in Japan and becoming favorites of major festivals including Fuji Rock.

Their international breakthrough came when Gilles Peterson, the renowned British DJ, introduced the them through his Radio 1 show “WorldWide”. In the summer of 2005, by invitation from Giles, the band traveled to the UK to perform on his program. The name spread further via the international jazz network and at the BBC World Wide Award later that year, SOIL & “PIMP” SESSIONS was awarded with the “John Peel Play More Jazz Award“.

While continuing to perform in Japan, the band expanded their playing field performing in over 12 European countries and at major international festivals including Montreux and North Sea.

The band’s album ‘Pimp Master’ was released in 2006 and available through Brownswood Recordings in the UK. ‘PIMPOINT‘is out now on Brownswood Recordings.

http://www.myspacemusic.com/soilpimpuk

This is one of the best tracks (IMHO) from Jazzanova’s recent release Of All The Things. Maybe I’m biased cos I also happen to love Ben Westbeech. In any case the song is lovely and the video provides suitable eye candy:

And here’s a bonus for ya. Ben’s recent mixtape featuing lots of electro-y, break-y kinda choons.
DOWNLOAD mixtape

1. The Thrill of it All (M.A.N.D.Y. vs Booka Shade Re-Work) -Roxy Music
2. Everybody Cha Cha – Soda Boys
3. Azido da bass – Crookers mix
4. Balle! shava (sinden remix)- Tigerstyle
5. If wer’e not talking (Ben Mono mix) – Vivek Shraya
6. Erotic discourse – Paul Woodford
7. Mushroom man – Butch
8. Don’t go – Puzique
9. Dang – Atari era
10. Dollar Sign – Stush
11. Lovers – C&S
12. Conga – Tempa
13. Lekstep – Mrk1
14. Eastern Promise – Chase and Status
15. Where’s my money (Caspa & Rusky Banton Remix) – TC
16. Borrowed time (vip mix) – TC & Subfocus
17. Without you – Marky & Makoto
18. Feelings VIP (Nutone mix) – Shy Fx & T Power

Not to be groupies or anything, but we have some more Chicken George updates for ya.
His new 12″ for Swedish Brandy is now out, entitled Swed.u.s.h Connection 2. It features the likes of Nick Nack, Lady Alma, The IllVibe Collective, J Boogie and more.
Check out this Q&A with the man himself, and from there you can also preview the music in their cool lil media player.
Good ‘ush.

One of our fave DJs Chicken George let us know that he has a brand new Jazztronica mix available at ProperlyChilled.com. Radio Jazztronica #4 can be streamed or downloaded here:
http://properlychilled.com/music/sessions/radiojazztronica/
He’s put together a classic mix of jazzy hip-hop and soulful downtempo.

The tracklist is as follows:
Examples : Be Kind To Your Mind (Red Astaire Remix) (Raw Fusion Recordings)
The Procussions feat. Strange Fruit Project : Changes (Hiphop Is Music)
A Tribe Called Quest : Jam (Jive)
D’Angelo : Devil’s Pie (Paul Nice Remix) (Virgin Records)
Kid Sublime feat. Yinka : Fruitsugar (Jahwell)
Brownout! : Laredo 77 (Freestyle Records)
Beatconductor : Hottest (Dub) (G.A.M.M.)
Marc Mac Presents: Visioneers : Ike’s Mood I (BBE)
Platinum Pied Pipers : Stay With Me (Mitsu Remix) (Ubiquity)
J Rawls Presents: The Liquid Crystal Project : A Tribute to Troy (Unique)
Marvin Gaye : What’s Going On (Remix) (Motown)
People Under The Stairs : Tuxedo Rap (Basement Records)
Greyboy feat. D-Styles and Ricci Rucker : Son-Ray (Ubiquity)
Carmen McCrae : Just A Little Lovin’ (GB Remix) (Verve)
Gwen McCrae : Funky Sensation (MAW Mix)
Dzihan & Kamien : Stiff Jazz (Couch Records)
Projections : Stillness Meets Me (Work/Epic)
Adrian Quesada feat. Martin Perna & DJ Chicken George : OverThrowed! (Swedish Brandy)

Go check out the goodness for yourself!