Beat Meet: The Combined Forces, Cowboy Gambling, Sex Talking, Boudoir Blunted, Second Introductory Edition

You been getting that jonesin' for some beats, too, lately? Let's scratch that itch, shall we? The good news about delayed Beat Meets is the fact that there's generally more beats to share when we do get together like this. The real question, however, remains: did you bring me my cheez whiz, boy?

It had been almost a minute since we last heard from our favorite label, Project: Mooncircle, and i was beginning to get a tad worried. Turns out they were just putting the finishing touches on Robot Robinson, featuring stellar beats by Robot Koch and tight rhymes by John Robinson. Koch maintains his otherworldly, spaceship soundtrack while Robinson keeps those alien heads bobbing with his lyrical flow. A powerful one-two punch, to say the least. i keep waiting for P:M to drop the ball and put out something less than phenomenal. Fortunately, i have a feeling i'm going to be waiting a long time before that happens.

mp3: Sun RA ft. I.D. 4 Windz (Robot Koch & John Robinson from Robot Robinson)

If oddisee is willing to back your beats, odds are your beats are worth hearing. If you would agree, you're going to want to hear this joint by Maverick. Apparently, oddisee was so impressed with Maverick's stuff that the established producer talked the relative rookie into dropping this debut. All instrumental hip-hop, there are some real gems in here.

mp3: When Speakers Spoke (Maverick from The First Step)

mp3: 'Til Next Rhyme (Maverick from The First Step)

mp3: On the Street (Maverick from The First Step)

Proving that unsolicited submissions from you dirty bastards often yield some of Beat Meet's finest gems, we recently received some great stuff from Lawrence, Kansas-based Say My Name. This stuff is a bit more of the experimental variety; think Shigeto without the obvious Asian overtones or maybe somewhere between Teebs and Baths. Or think something else. Just give it a listen and hear for yourself.

mp3: Say My Lame (Say My Name from his Sound Cloud)

mp3: Stop Snitching (Say My Name from his Sound Cloud)

Just in time for Valentine's, in this corner, weighing it at beats the hell out of me, Star Slinger dropped another beast. Sporting tracks like Slow 'n Wet, this three track EP continues to show that someone's about to take the next step and start hitting the big time. Sure, that may just mean a CD on an obscure label that about 100 of us listen to, but what the hell have you done today, you smarmy bastard?

mp3: Casanova's Jump Off (Star Slinger from Bedroom Joints)

mp3: Baby Mama (Star Slinger from Bedroom Joints)

And finally, a little something from someone whose name you're probably going to hear a fair amount 'round these parts in the coming days and weeks and sometime thereafter i haven't decided yet. Maybe a...fortnight. With a self-described sound falling somewhere between Nosaj Thing and Flying Lotus, i'm of no mind to disagree with oddlogic. His beats are low end heavy, but have that weird blunted, spacey vibe that marks the best work of the genre. oddlogic will be gracing with our very own, FIRST EVER, LET EXCLUSIVE MIX. Suck on that, all you other blogs! To let you know why we're so very excited about this, check out this joint. More, as they say, to follow.

mp3: Intro Redux (oddlogic from his Sound Cloud)

Project: Mooncircle Jazzes Things Up

Psst, Project: Mooncircle. Seriously, what's the deal? Don't you know that you're supposed to save your kick ass releases for later in the year so you can make various "Best Of" lists? Music bloggers typically have the memory skills of drunken goat herders. How are we ever supposed to remember something this good that came out this early in the year? Bucking tradition, i guess, P:M kindly has shared their January/February offerings with LET, and lemme tell you, these things are beasts.

While the label remains a beat factory first and foremost, upcoming CDs by Long Arm and Graciela Maria are decidedly more jazz oriented than listeners might expect from their standard P:M fare. Both names should be familiar to longtime P:M fans--Long Arm was on both The Moon Comes Closer and the Russian beatmaker edition of the Finest Ego series, while Graciela has been working with Robot Koch for the past couple of years now (incidentally, he produces this one).

Long Arm's The Branches (release date: February 11, 2011) is a study in instrumental jazz. Employing standard beat production, LA creates music unlike many of his peers. This is not simple looping and sampling, this is the taking of the old to create something uniquely new. If you simply want crate digging, go check out some of Madlib's stuff. If you want to hear the future of jazz, check out this noise.

mp3: When Children Sleep (Long Arm from The Branches)

Ms. Maria does much the same on her Many Places (release date: January 28, 2011), updating an older sound for a new beat-oriented generation, making her a laser pointer chanteuse in a land of torch singers. Her voice is at once powerful and subdued. Koch's beats, incorporating soothing strings and gentle percussion, provide the perfect backdrop, allowing Maria to do her thing while making sure the heads keep nodding. i'd love to hear Graciela open up and belt out a little stronger occasionally, but, hell, nearly every note here is beautiful, so i'm arguably just being picky.

mp3: Through the Night (Graciela Maria from Many Places)

Terrible Chris' Fave Albums of 2010, Part the First

OK, now that the 2010 is behind us, and we have ALL the facts in front of us, here's my list of favorite CDs of the year past. As Megan will tell you, i'm not a huge fan of lists because, quite frankly, they're all just opinions. And as we all know, my opinion is superior to all others, so i just feel bad when i put out lists that so obviously trump all others. Oh well, it's my cross to bear.

And because i spent so damn long on this list, posting the links, etc., i'm breaking it up into a four parter. Be still your beating hearts, i know.

Now, part the first.

1. The Black Keys, Brothers--OK, i lied. This clearly was the best CD of 2010. Paraphrasing one of the better reviews i recall reading, the Keys didn't reinvent the wheel with this one, they just proved they could make it rounder, rubberier and added spokes.

mp3: Tighten Up (The Black Keys from Brothers)

2. Ethan Lipton and His Orchestra, Honker--Probably the best CD of the year by a guy of whom you've never heard. Hopefully, the future will change that, as he's quite possibly the wittiest lyricist out there today.

m4a: You Were Right & It's OK (Ethan Lipton and His Orchestra from Honker)

3. Reggie Watts, Why Shit So Crazy?--This is more of a comedy/performance piece, but Watts shows what a sense of humor, a loop machine and a strong sense of lyrics can do.

mp3: Thus Far (Alternate Version) (Reggie Watts from Why Shit So Crazy?)

4. Project: Mooncircle Artists, The Moon Comes Closer--Yes, i'm a Project: Mooncircle junkie, and this probably was my favorite offering from them in '10. The fact that it contains a huge chunk of their roster certainly didn't hurt.

mp3: The Moon Comes Closer Snippet (Project: Mooncircle Artists from The Moon Comes Closer)

5. Admiral Radley, I Heart California--i can't believe this wasn't on more "Best Of" lists. Critics and bloggers who are not me can be such maroons.

mp3: I Heart California (Admiral Radley from I Heart California)

Beat Meet: The Embarassment of Riches Edition

Since the holidays screwed up my blog week last week, ye olde inbox received a horn o' plenty's worth of stellar beats. And because i'm such a helluva guy, i'm going to share them with you.

Ah, Project: Mooncircle, how i love thee and thy dopish ways. Continuing with their kick ass Finest Ego series, this time up, the label features some of today's hottest Russian beatmakers doing their thing. Now, i know what you're thinking about Russian DJs, but, c'mon, man, that's racist. Allow me to confirm the fact that P:M yet again knocks this one out of the park, particularly on tracks by Pavel Dovgal and Shawalski. Here's what i'm trippin' on, though--how come all these foreign compilations only use English language samples? i'm just asking. Regardless, here's a little mini-mix to prove my point about just how good this bad boy is.

mp3: Finest Ego Russian Beatmakers Compiliation Mini-Mix

i can't tell you much about the Cutler beyond what you can read on their website yourself, other than that their latest, The Best Things in Life Aren't Things, is a stone cold groove, baby. Jazzy/funky instruments, cymbal-ic percussion and Charlie Brown sounding vocal samples? Yes, please.

mp3: PAYR (The Cutler from The Best Things in Life Aren't Things)

mp3: Sync Estate (The Cutler from The Best Things in Life Aren't Things)

You didn't think i was going to allow LET to falter in its goal of maintaining its place as THE leading source for heavily and probably illegally sampled children's movie beats, did you? Hells no, i'm not. So let's check out Pogo's latest update to his already classic take on Alice in Wonderland.

mp3: Alice (Extended) (Pogo from Deeper Down the Rabbit Hole)

mp3: Oyster Dreamland (Pogo from Deeper Down the Rabbit Hole)

i'm normally not a huge remix fan, but when one of my fave up and coming beatmakers is behind the board, what can i do? Here's oOoOO's take on Marina & the Diamond's "Obsessions." i've got to be honest, i'm not at all familiar with the original, but i sure as hell am digging the remix.

mp3: Obsessions (oOoOO Remix) (Marina & the Diamonds from Soundcloud)

If the cats at the WEDIDIT Collective give a song props, i'm going to have to give it a listen. So far, they have yet to let me down. And they maintain that streak with this Juj-recommended track by Ackryte. i'm assuming the instrumental is NOT about Ackryte's problems with the Alabama Police Department, but what the hell do i know?

mp3: Ackryte_x_AL_PD_-_Untitled (Ackryte from Soundcloud)

Is there anything better than "re-released" Dilla? Maybe "re-released" Dilla remixed by Madlib? OK, i'll buy that.

mp3: The $ (Madlib Remix) (J Dilla from Hella International)

More Label Love for Project: Mooncircle

Is it just me, or is damn near everybody out there going on and on about Ninja Tune's 20th anniversary? Don't get me wrong, they deserve all the love and attention, and probably even some more, but let's not forget the other labels out there, doing what they do for off-center, instrumental, beat music or whatever you want to call it (and yes, i realize Ninja Tune does more than that, but bear with me, i'm writing a fucking post here).

Project: Mooncircle is back at it yet again with more goodies for our earholes. Remember that new Robot Koch joint i told y'all about a while back? Well, not only has Songs for Trees and Cyborgs hit the streets, good ol' RK has his first video out for the project, too. "Threats" features a robot, weeds, grass, and occasional light-ups. Now, i'm not one to read symbolism into everything, but, well, you do the math.

And if that weren't enough, they've put together another "everybody on the label" compilation, now with theme-y goodness inside! Inspired by their new A&R, Jinna, it's dedicated to her dream of going to the moon. Now, i don't want to say this is their best group project yet, as that would diminish all the other outstanding work they put out regularly, but i'm not NOT saying it, either. You've got label standard bearers like Robot and Pavel Dovgal here, as well as up and comers like Juj. The tracks all have a spacey, dream-like quality, a bit softer around the edges than you might expect from the label, but the end result is fantastic. Not that i have favorites or anything, but MyOwn's "Tit Tit Tudi Tit Ti" definitely has made my short list of best beat tracks of the year. Here's a snippet of glitchy goodness to prove my point. Make sure to snag this beast when it drops November 5, 2010.

mp3: The Moon Comes Closer Snippet (Project: Mooncircle Artists from The Moon Comes Closer)