Lots of Bilal goodness for you today via ArtDontSleep:

Finally, the video everyone has been waiting for…..Bilal’s “Levels,” directed by super producer Flying Lotus a.k.a. Steve Ellison . Lotus is making his directorial debut and this marks as sort of a Plug Research reunion, where his debut 1983 was released. The visually, stunning video was inspired by the Bilal track and also features cameo appearances by Erykah Badu and Shafiq Husayn (who produced the track).

Lotus recently discussed the concept of the video saying, “I originally wanted to keep visual themes with another video from my last LP called ‘mmhmm’ off of my last album. It featured Thundercat as an intergalactic bass player in a super strange world created by ‘Special Problems’. Since Thundercat was part of this song, I thought it could be fun to continue the visual style and feel of this space opera. In the end you have this crazy video made of so much mixed media, geek dreams and lots of love.” This is the third video off of Bilal’s latest album Airtight’s Revenge .

Purchase Levels – EP – Bilal at iTunes

FULL SCREEN
The Sounds of VTech / Bilal Levels

The amazing Carlos Nino and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson have created a tribute EP to J. Dilla where they interpret his music with a 40-piece orchestra. Sounds pretty amazing in itself, but sure to be even more ear-opening is the live concert. They will perform the EP live for the first time on February 22 as part of ArtDontSleep’s Timeless series of concerts. DJ sets by House Shoes + J.ROCC + Very Special Guests TBA

“A SUITE FOR MA DUKES”

James Yancey (1974-2006), better known as J Dilla was born in Detroit. His work as a producer had a defining role in Hip-Hop. He produced hits for A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Common and Erykah Badu to name a few. At 32, he passed away in Los Angeles in the care of his mother, Ma Dukes of lupus related illness. Carlos Niño & Miguel Atwood-Ferguson pay tribute to Dilla by interpreting his music with a 40-piece orchestra, Their EP, “Suite for Ma Dukes” will be released and performed live for the first time.

More info on the Timeless concert series
More info on ArtDontSleep
Buy the EP

So the dope folks over at ArtDontSleep have another killer show coming up for all you LA heads. On August 8th you can catch Platinum Pied Pipers, Muhsinah, and DJ sets from Kutmah and The Gas Lamp Killer. All the official details and such are below. Go have fun kids.

KCRW, ECHOPLEX AND ARTDONTSLEEP PRESENTS
Performances by Platinum Pied Pipers Cast No. 2, Muhsinah, and DJ sets by Kutmah and The Gas Lamp Killer

Friday August 8th 2008

The break is over and KCRW, LA Weekly, The Echoplex, and ArtDontSleep are at it again! In the midst of a Californian summer comes more heat, from Detroit and DC! For more information, visit www.myspace.com/artdontsleep. It will be held at The Echoplex, located on 1154 Glendale Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90026. Ticket prices are General Admission: $15. Admittance is again 21 and wiser. Presale tickets are available at Turntable Lab, located on 424 N Fairfax Ave Los Angeles, CA 90036, online at Ticket Web and through Shoptext by texting “PPP” to telephone number 467467. Guests are subject to availability.

Platinum Pied Pipers Cast No. 2 (www.myspace.com/platinumpiedpipers)
On the coattail of their second Ubiquity Records’ release Abundance, Platinum Pied Pipers’ duo Waajeed and Saadiq return, after three long awaited years, with a new mash up of vintage and modern influences, including pop, house, funk and Detroit techno, and combines them to be everything that is truly PPP’s sound. Their debut Triple P was hailed as the heaviest classic album of 2005 and their truthfully hyped live performances lead to a top three nomination for the Giles Petterson Worldwide Award, for Album of The Year. This time around PPP steps forward with PPP Cast No. 2: the refreshing St Louis crooner and lyricist Coultrain, Texas’ Karma, Jamila Reagen, from NYC, and long time Detroit collaborator Neco Redd. In the words of Waajeed, the inspiration for the new album is to “put some paint where it ain’t.” Fresh as ever, PPP has set the standards again!

Muhsinah (www.myspace.com/muhsinah)
DC producer, engineer and singer Muhsinah is the unexpected future soul! In a matter of seconds, her sound captures an audience wholly! In 2005, she released her self-produced Oscillations EP, but her full length album, day.break 2.0, is what earned her some buzz. BBC’s Radio 1Xtra’s Benji B brought her into the studio for an interview session, she just finished a UK tour and continuously flies forward! As Interdependent Media’s A&R Dominic Del Bene said, “Muhsinah’s music slithers all over your body like warm fuzzy slugs, thousands of them. Its warm and its dark and it effects you. Finally, when those thousands of fuzzy slugs have engulfed you, you feel the whole weight of it all…I’ll agree with it to the ends of the earth.”