Beat Authority playlist: 2/26/10

Relatively stable. Have a great weekend everyone!

Free mp3: soulful R&B from Tru Thoughts

Get it here.

Bomba Estereo en directo

Colombia's Bomba Estereo was really one of my favorite acts of 2009 - a band with a breakthrough sound they call "Electro Vacilon" (love it.)

Check 'em out here in the studios of KEXP in Seattle. Liliana Saumet sounds a little hoarse from too much touring, but it's still awesome. Download the entire set here.

I'm with the horn section

I've talked a lot recently about how much I love Tru Thoughts records. Based in Brighton in the UK, their roster includes Beat Authority faves Quantic, Alice Russell, Nostaligia 77, and more. Hell, they even give away a free Brazilian funk tune every now and again.

Starting today, this little blog from the wilds of New York State gets a worldwide exclusive: part 2 of a home movie by deepfunksters from Down Under, Bamboos. The Bamboos have a new album coming out March 30th, called 4.

You can watch part one here.

A big North Country welcome to all Tru Thoughts fans checking out Part 2...

Matmos on winking out

San Francisco musicians Matmos (Drew Daniel and Martin Schmidt) wonder if we're better off digitizing our creative output or if the end result will be that culture just winks out. It's an interesting argument. Not sure if I agree with it all but it's an important discussion to have.

Potty Mouth Alert Martin Schmidt (white shirt) has a bit of a potty mouth and uses some salty adverbs in this video. Please don't watch this video if you're offended by cuss words, because if you are then this video will offend you. DF

Matmos on Digital Technology and the Internet from John Vogel on Vimeo.

Beat Authority playlist: 2/19/10

We're suckahs.

- The Government.

Not so fast

Thought that you'd escape updates from Melodifestivalen this year, did ya? Not so fast.

Melodifestivalen, for those of you (un)lucky enough not to know, is a national psychosis that afflicts the kingdom of Sweden every february. Technically speaking it's a song contest, a kind of American Idol type thing by which the Swedish people select their entry to the Eurovision song contest (which is exactly what it claims to be). But in reality Melodifestivalen is a mirror to the Swedish soul. And the image reflected? Both fascinating and frightening.

Last week (semifinal 2, broadcast live from Sandviken), for the first time since I've been following the festival, there was an entry which could conceivably get played on the Beat Authority. A band whose members are second-generation imigrants to Sweden from Balkan countries teamed up with the Swedish rapper Dogge Doggelito (don't even ask) to produce what they call "Balkan reggaeton". Here's a clip below. Oh yeah, I have to let you know - the Swedish public sent these guys packing and picked a couple of pretty boys singing power ballads and power pop to go to the final.

Free mp3: the newest from the Monterrey scene

Monterrey is Mexico's third largest city. It's a quick drive from the border with southern Texas. And it's the country's Austin, TX - the place where musical innovation thrives and the hottest bands are born.

Control Machete, Kinky, Plastilina Mosh, El Gran Silencio - all giants of the Latin Alternative scene, all from Monterrey. They mix up hip hop, norteno, punk, funk, rock, mariachi, electronica, you name it. Truly the new sound of global music.

Here's a new name to remember: Quiero Club. They sprinkle indy rock into the mix. Check out this article to learn more about them.

And download the great remix by Toy Selectah (Control Machete's DJ and a Monterrey native himself).

Putumayo for Haiti

Another nice opportunity to support Haitian relief and get some good music in the process, care of Putumayo.

Free mp3: Zuco 103 remixed

When I first heard ZUCO 103's album, Whaa!, from 2005, it was one of those gasp-I've-never-heard-anything-quite-like-this moments that makes listening to new music such a reward.

The Brazilian outfit's latest album from last year, After the Carnival, didn't exactly stop me in my tracks like that. But it's terrific Brazilian cutting-edge beats nonetheless.

Following the trend of most "outernational sound" artists lately (Balkan Beat Box, Novalima, Nickodemus, Alice Russell, Vieux Farka Toure, etc.), ZUCO 103 has released a new remix album of Carnival.

The track by Dutch producers Kraak & Smaak is yours for the taking, thanks to Six Degrees records. Enjoy!

A report from Fela!

The buzz on Broadway this winter (not like I know anything about Broadway) is the musical Fela!, the story of the music of the creator of Afrobeat, Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Bonus is that the house band is one of the inheritors of Fela's legacy, Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, based in NYC.

Later today, I'll blog more about Fela. But I wanted to share a report from Penelope, a Beat Authority listener who saw Fela! over the weekend:

I can't come up with sufficient gushy verbiage to say how wonderful it is - not a mere play, a life experience-the singing, the music, the dancing, the lighting and special effects, and maybe most importantly, the history you will learn --you need know nothing about Nigeria when you walk in - they do a great job of weaving all that into the entertainment -- worth every penny, if you see no other show this season,etc - all the cliches - etc.

One thing - it is hard to SIT through it - because you want to get up and dance -- My teen aged nieces were spell bound - I am saving my pennies to see it again. Please pass this along so it runs a long while!

I'm definitely trying to line up a time to go to the City to see it... Have you seen it? What's your review?

Beat Authority playlist: 2/12/10

Let there be song to fill the air.

blogs, laws, and beats

Hello People of the Beat. Been a while since I've checked in at To the Beat. I'm going to try to be less of a stranger.

I've been reading a lot about music blogs being shut down for copyright violations. Both this article from London's The Guardian and this one from Silicon Valley's Crunch Gear are about well-known music blogs being removed from Blogger (the blogging service on which To The Beat is published) by Google (the little old company that owns blogger).

According to the articles the blogs in questions have posted mp3s that they -- allegedly -- received from record labels and bands for promotional coverage, but were nevertheless copyright protected. This is kind of a gray zone. Music producers have learned that they can generate interest by giving away some copyrighted material. Problem is, the law doesn't make it very clear how they can do that short of signing a contract with the blogs they're distributing to. These semi-official leaks are usually down with a wink, not with a written agreement. In the absence of any written proof that the mp3s were distributed with the consent of the copyright owner, Google was probably right to take some sort of action. But pulling the blogs without looking into the mater might have been a bit drastic.

So you know, the links to mp3s on The Beat Authority lead back to labels' websites where they do have the right to give it all away. This is not a gray area, just a very funky one with lots of fat beats.

All the publicity the Beat Authority needs

Last summer, I posted a video of a young woman beatboxing something wicked. Turns out it's 17-year-old Canadian, Julia Dales. She won a world beatbox battle championship, and even got a tip of the hat on Nah Right, a bigtime Hip Hop blog.

Blog reader Carolyn e-mailed me to say she's been keeping up with Julia's trajectory since she read about her here. Carolyn suggests this stand-out... (If only Julia could do one for the Beat Authority.)

Get down and boogie with the family!

For years, the Burlington area has enjoyed a family funk dance party called Boogie Wonderland. I reported on it here.

Well, in that proud tradition, the Canton-Potsdam-greater St. Lawrence County community now has the same! Bring the family on down to La Casbah in Potsdam on Saturday February 20th from 2-4pm for family-friendly disco, funk, and fun. There'll be food for the kids and a bar for adults. I'll be laying down the groove.

Here's the official press release from the Family Funk-Shun:

Round up the family, dust off those bell bottoms, and get ready to shake your groove thing on Saturday, February 20^th from 2-4pm at La Casbah, 6 Elm St. Potsdam. It’s a new series of dance parties! We’re called Family Funk-shun. The party will feature music from DJ Tapatio (David Sommerstein from NCPR’s Beat Authority), snacks for the kids, and a cash bar for adults. The party is geared toward kids under 10 and all kids must be accompanied by an adult. Funky costumes are encouraged. Admission is $3/person or $10/family. For more info email familyfunkshun@gmail.com.

Beat Authority playlist: 2/5/10

Que Rrrrrico!

Have a great weekend and let me leave you with "La madre de todas las Bandas", Banda el Recodo...

Swimming in Speakers hits it BIG!

Tonight on Grey's Anatomy, Beat Authority listeners may hear something familiar. Saranac Lake's Swimming in Speakers' song, "In Knowing", is scheduled to appear in the episode!

Here's the song. Here's Chris Clarke talking about it. And here's SiS performing live last summer on the Beat Authority (including four free downloads)!

Congrats, Chris and Meadow!

Free MP3s: Saratoga!

I don't know why, but I always think of a hippy-stoner voice and the Grateful Dead when I think of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, known around here as SPAC.

But you must check out this Talking Heads bootleg from 1983 at SPAC. This is around the time Stop Making Sense was released and the band was bangin'.

Back in town (with a good cause)

I'm back after a sweet vacation in Oaxaca and D.F., Mexico. Heard lots of great sounds that I'll be sharing.

First, though, I found this going through the inbox. Sierra Leone Refugee All-Stars and Cumbancha records are donating all the proceeds from the digital sale of a single off their upcoming record to the Haitian relief effort.

Spend (at least) a buck, get a cool tune, and pitch in.