Jebus, after seemingly forever, we've finally got enough stuff to make for a pretty damn fine Free Music Friday, if i do say so my damn self. Good things come to those who wait, i suppose. Of course, that saying always makes me think of paraplegics for some reason, which just goes to show that the better the meds, the better the story.i'm not sure how the Budos Band have managed to fly under my radar for as long as they have, but shame on me. As an old skool Funkateer myself, not getting into these cats sooner was a criminal mistake on my part. Tight horns, mucho impressive rhythm section and an ability to groove with the best of them make this a group that we both should be listening to.
i wish i could tell you more about Shugo Tokumaru, but as the Japanese artist's webpage is not in English, i don't have a whole lot to go on here. What i can tell you is that the 20-year-old is making some incredible bedroom tunes, apparently just him, a Mac and a microphone. i'm having a hell of a time trying to classify the sound--it's certainly not J-pop, and i wouldn't call it standard beat music or electro, either, yet it seems to somehow combine elements of all that and more. Whatever, this one is sunny, catchy and perfect to get your weekend started right.
i mentioned that one of my younger sibs recently returned from Africa. Said sib also now works with me at the day job, so i typically play DJ whenever we go to lunch or where ever. When he asked me to hip him to some new cats he might not now about, i quickly went to Sun Araw. i explained that this mofo was making raw, primal sounds, real tribal shit that essentially begs the listener to ingest some hallucinogenics, strip nekkid and dance around a fire. "Which tribe?," my brother replied. Sibs can be a pain in the ass. Regardless, in preparation for the new 12" he's about to drop on Woodsist, Sun's camp sent us this spastic booty shaker from the Mothership.
Ever since his appearance on Zero 7's The Garden, i've been a bit of a José González fan. His languid style and hazily romantic axemanship do something for me, you dig? The fact that he's formed a three piece combo called Junip, all hailing from Gothenburg, Sweden (featuring Tobias Winterkorn on keys, Elias Araya on skins and the aforementioned José González on vox and guitar) is Voltron-like in its own sweet perfection. The sound bears González's trademark soft groove, which is nice.
For whatever reason, we get surprisingly few submissions from Mexican bands. In and of itself, that's probably not a big deal, but for a site that prides itself on bringing you the finest in Nigerian speed rap, we are saddened that more of our continental neighbors don't see fit to send things our way. Fortunately, however, Mexico City's indie phenoms, Chikita Violenta, recently signed with the Arts & Crafts label, meaning we were able to get our grubby, little mitts on a couple of singles from their latest, TRE3S. Produced by Broken Social Scene's own Dave Newfeld, if you ever wondered how Canada's finest sprawling sound would play as performed by English-speaking Latinos, well, wonder no more. The short answer is pretty damn good. Cross cultural exchange at its finest, if you will.
Maybe it has something to do with the fact that i'm getting a bit too close for my own comfort to middle aged myself , but i have a major audio boner for Grinderman. Sure, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are incredible in their own right, but the fire, piss and vinegar that Grinderman puts out there simply is in another league. i, for one, cannot wait for them to finally make it to the 9:30 Club for their upcoming fall tour. Sure, we posted the extended maxi-single for Heathen Child already a while ago, but in case that one was too long, they've just dropped the radio edit for your listening pleasure.
i haven't bought a pair of Levi's in i don't know how long, but if they're going to continue to keep putting out their stellar Pioneer Sessions, i might just have to head out to the mall and show my gratitude by way of a pair of boot cut denim purchase. This time around, they've given us the Dirty Projectors and their take on Dylan's classic, "I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine." So money.
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