Elekwent Folk - Northern Lights

Hello and welcome in october, a month that has little to nothing special about it, so we'll try to get it an unusual additional groove. And we'll begin right away with Northern Lights, an already ancient LP by some Vancouver-based Elekwent Folk.

This is old-school hip-hop, singing and rapping between the woods and the streets on various subjects such as light, forests, butts, love, beach, poetry... The two 'emcees' A-Ro and Slippery Elm get comfortable and let loose on the beats carved lovingly by AstroLogical in the überchill tradition, with some nice featurings here and there.

I found this perfect rapping gem by looking for free folk music, you never know...


Smaakelijk.

Tough Crowd - We're All in This Together

Well, what can I say ? It's about life, ups and downs, good times, bad times, people, talking, being polite, suspicious, fresh, groovy, all in an upbeat frame where beats always fall into place exactly at the time you wanted them to.

Complex instrumentals, chilly vibes and an atmosphere of friends getting together to slide their flowing lyrics on good beats.

Noticed how I'm always talking about atmospheres ? Well, it's because I think that that's what music is about.

See you later.

Diligent Fingers & B3NBi - Smoke in The Jazz Lounge

Welcome in that smoky jazz lounge. What does jazz music means in one word for you ? That's what is going to be talked about here. A shy guy on the stage suggests we take the time to listen to a bunch of jazzy hip-hop tracks. And I say we give it a go. Let's listen, let's talk, let's enjoy.

A whole atmosphere is created. It smells like cigars, whiskey and the streets. Pour yourself a glass. It's on the house.

VA - First Light

This album I like. Very much. I've been listening to it in a loop for three days straight. Oh three very unproductive days they were, and I almost went crazy at some times, but First Light helped me get around it. The sun was shining, the chill was chilling and that was all that mattered.

Out at Expansions Collective, this compilation will take you to new heights of hip-hop and urban chill, that style of music that strangely makes me want to live in the city, whereas I thought that thought would never linger in my head. Go figure.

Saxophone, piano, hip-hop, the whole finely blended and beautifully crafted.

Perfect.

Weekend Cult - Weekend Cult

To end this month of march in a beautiful fashion, I suggest listening to some groovy hip-hop, whaddya think ? I discovered this album when it was suggested to me while I was buying an album by Al Lover, producer of electronic and psychedelic beats. There are always nice discoveries to make when you buy something on Bandcamp, here's the proof.

It's old-school, no gangsta anywhere near here, no fat electronic beats turning our youths into savage warmongers, only rhythms, rimes, flow, poetry, subversive lyrics that do not become a boring course on morals and ethics. It goes up all at once, and it does not come down, even after the end you still feel the heat of the city in the afternoon, watching friends playing football with a tin can.

I hate tin cans.

HeapRize - Gang Sign$

I don't know for you, but I am warm inside, with kind of a virtual fireplace, remotely controlled, close-by, and I'm listening to Gang Sign$, a little pearl of hip-hop downtempo that could easily become the instrumental of some groovy rap music.

After a month of automated service (thank you technology), La Mojoteque is back with a human being at the controls.

Tenemos el control.

Long live love

B.B. and The Underground Kingz - The Trill is Gone

Through the "Collaborations that never were" project, the producer Amerigo Gazaway create opportunities for living artists to work together with passed away legends of music. The alive meets the dead, the grandchildren play with the grandparents. I already loved and spoke about Fela Soul, the album blending the music of De La Soul and Fela Kuti, and the dyptich The Departure (currently unavailable because of rights issues) and The Return, featuring the sound of Mos Def and Marvin Gaye.

Here is something new, the merging of two musical genres I'd never thought I'd see getting along together so well : blues and hip-hop. Specifically, the music of B.B. King and his legendary guitar Lucille; and The Underground Kingz, Texas rap stars. Here and there you'll find feats from Eric Clapton, Outkast or Ludacris, the whole in a very relaxed bluesy while upbeat atmosphere.

As always available as completely free downloads, the albums produced by Amerigo Gazaway are really worth opening one or two ears wide to listen closely to what they have to offer.

The BenchWarmers Clique - The Ugly

This unbearable cover bears well its name. I guess the Benchwarmers do not lack humor at all. And their music is in fact far from ugly, more like old-school hip-hop sprinkled with old tv shows extracts and epic sentences from the sixth dimension. Moving, grooving, booming.

Relax, it's only hip-hop.

Murmures Barbares - Murmures Barbares

De kleine Kornzor said to me there was a small hip-hop gig in Brussels that night, guys from Switzerland. I couldn't stay very long but still had the time to appreciate the music, and was instantly hooked. A french spoken hip-hop with poetic lyrics sometimes hard, sometimes gloomy, well I guess you'd have to understand French. But the music in itself is also excellent. Electronic melodies, groovy beats and samples from another time. A music that will please rap lovers. And I had for once the opportunity to buy a free-priced album in physical format.

And they are even better live. If you get the chance to see them on a small stage, where hip-hop renders best, do not hesitate to go.

And I used to never listen to "french" rap...

PEGA5U5 - The Flock

It's been a while since I wanted to share this album, but each time I try I just cannot write anything because it's so peculiar and slips off my mind like a greasy weasel. Let's just say what's what : PEGA5U5 is the union of a glitch music producer (Mr. Rogers) and a rapper (Pharroh) who let themselves get carried away with what they do best on nine tracks. The first lies down squelchy whirly beats while the latter takes rhymes out of his lunchbox and makes them dance all around these crazy musical mad experiments.

I never tire of listening to this one, and that says a lot. A really surprising and enjoyable (like, really, man, totally really).

Absolutely.

X-Ray Zebras - Wooden Electro

I'm quite surprised to see I have not already shared this album on the Mojoblog, really. Discovered by Raph eons ago, Wooden Electro is a masterly crafted blend of electro, funk, and groovy hip-hop. The whole is delightly whirly, with sometimes a little pinch of rock or fusion jazz.

Each track is really delicious to the ears, every little musical detail is carefully hand-picked, and I think I should stop there before my article becomes a commercial for potato chips

An excellent release, no time to waste not listening to it.

And so yes, a zebra with antlers, yes, that says it all.

Amerigo Gazaway - Yasiin Gaye: The Departure (Side One)

"Amerigo Gazaway’s *Soul Mates* series continues the theme of his previous work in creating collaborations that never were. On the series’ latest installment, Amerigo unites Brooklyn rapper Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) and soul legend Marvin Gaye for a dream collaboration aptly titled “Yasiin Gaye”. Building the album's foundation from deconstructed samples of Gaye’s Motown classics, Gazaway re-purposes the instrumentation into new productions within a similar framework. Carefully weaving Bey’s tangled raps and Gaye’s soulful vocals over his new arrangements, the producer delivers a quality much closer to an authentic collaboration than a lukewarm "mashup" album".

Review taken from Bandcamp because I had no time to write my own. But I still have to translate it in French so it's okay to say I've worked a little.

Poetic Intelligence - Mistakes & Handshakes

Just some nice Hip-Hop I've found today, great beats, great flow, an old-school feeling on top of that. It is a little collection of new and old tracks from Poetic Intelligence. Check their other releases, they're all free !

Mute Speaker - Take Yourself Apart

Another great release by Rob O'Hara aka Mute Speaker, full of chilly beats, hips and hops, groovy grooves (if I may say). Don't hesitate to take a look at his full discography, everything is name your price and high quality music ! Got to love this sound.

Mute Speaker - Post Block

I wanted to share this album with you, then I realised it wasn't free anymore, then I asked Mute Speaker about it and he put it back on name your price download.

This is quite the excellent release, packed with experimental hip-hop, electronic probes cast into the depths of musical space, and still this question mark that gets all its sense with this kind of sound. Well okay I think track 6 is a little to modern pop r'n'b oriented but the rest is really worth anything you can give.

By the way I want to take a few minutes to tell you about donations. I know this word can be scary and that it seems that everybody always wants a little bit of your hard-earned money, but it shouldn't be that way.

Donations on Bandcamp help free music stay free. Getting a Paypal account seems like a pain in the @$%! but it is really very easy and fast, and then, you can really show your appreciation and support directly to all the artists of the independent music world. You can become a part of it all and make a difference in the free-music world. You don't have to give a lot, but know that each penny you give also goes to increase the number of free-priced download possible for each release (and I didn't know that, Mute Speaker just told me).

Do not give up giving.

Workforce - Apples and Sunshine

You find a lot of interesting things when googling "bandcamp name your price" a lot of free priced releases of course. Just on the first page I already found two new great releases, this one amongst them. Old-school hip-hop, nice lyrics and flow, and cool grooves. Just the kind of hip-hop I like, and of course free, and still completely unknown. Remember, if you like it, then share with your friends and family, because this is what it's all about !

Wally Clark - Sportin' Waves

With rap music, you really never know what you are going to find, especially with free rap music. Sometimes the music is really good but the voice is horrible, sometimes it's the opposite, but there are clear moments of truth and lifelight, when you find yourself in an empty room, listening to a supernaturally good record. Sportin' Waves is one of these, out on the Gummysoul label, keeping up with their series of good artists and albums as ever. I haven't really made contact with them already, but I will, to know if what they have in store will stay free for you and us and them.
Good beats and good flow, nice lyrics, groovy record I'm telling you.

The Jazz Jousters Podcasts

Mixcloud, another great source of free music. Such a variety of mixes, just like a ... Soundcloud... but for mixes, you know ?

And recently, I just found myself (damn, the S key is beginning to lose its grip on the real world) listening to a good deal of beautiful music. Thanks to Millenium Jazz Music, a label based in London and specialised in mixing hip-hop beats with jazzy sonorities, I discovered a great deal of free music, and the best introduction to it seems to be the podcasts made by the Jazz Jousters Gypsy Eyes and Gadget (maybe there are more, you never know with good music...).

In this particular podcast you will find groovy hip-hop and jazzy beats, a pinch of rap, all from talented underground artists whose names you can find in the description of the mix. Some of them have already released free or free-priced music that will eventually end up in my ears and in yours if you're curious enough.

You can, of course, download it for free, by following the link in the description.

Please find enclosed a great evening, I'm having one right now.

The Jazz Jousters podcast #13 by Gypsy Eyes & Gadget by Millennium Jazz on Mixcloud

Various Artists - BOXBEATS VOL. 2

This collection of beats from Phonophanatic artists is so amazingly good and groovy that I've been listening to its soul-soothing content all day !

It is simply one of the best hip-hop compilation I've ever heard of, thanks to DJ Mentos, featured on the release, who shared it on his Facebook page. It's easy, every track has good rhythm, good leads, good atmosphere. It puts your mind at ease. Nothing else is important.

And I haven't even listened to the first one yet !

There is always a good reason when I'm carried away, hear for yourself.

Ackryte | Broke | Repeat Pattern - Love Exposure

Raphzor told me about Repeat Pattern a while ago, a very good chill artist, and since then I've discovered another album featuring this guy and two others. The result is a 22-track free-priced album full of chilly hip-hop. Take your time to enjoy each song, all of which never exceed 3 minutes, alternating atmospheres and feelings.

But I won't spoil the discovery, I'll let you experience it for yourself now. Have a good wednesday evening.

Till next week.