You've Come A Long Way. Baby.

After over a month of well-deserved R&R, the Feedback Farmers lit up the airwaves last night with a smoking return to their bi-weekly broadcast. Inspired by the newly implemented UNC campus ban on smoking within 100 feet of any building, cigarette smoking was the topic of discussion.

Missed it? Drag your mouse here (29MB MP3) to download and give the show a listen.

Global Music Show

Specialty shows are controversial on a free format radio station, so they need to be good as hell to justify their existence. Lord knows we've tried. So, instead of letting the global music radio waves disintegrate into nothingness somewhere over Durham, they've been meticulously recorded. They're all archived in chronological order and labeled with region, DJ, and guest Professor name. Give a little listen, and feed back to me if you'd like.

http://www.unc.edu/areastudies/publicprograms/global-music-audio.html

This show is one of the more overtly educational broadcasts on xyc, and I'm interested to know: has anyone learned anything? Have we promoted intercultural understanding? Or provided some context to music that was otherwise simply "foreign"?

The purpose of the show is to educate and entertain, but I think its real value is allowing interaction between xyc and the professors of our university. When profs come to the station, they aren't selling their knowledge like they do in class, they're sharing it. I know I'm sounding a little lovey dovey here, but xyc might be the only place on campus where students and professors interact on equal ground, and I like that.
Thanks for reading,
Reece

Femme French Pop?

Recently came across a blogspot devoted to 60s French Language Femme Pop Music, plus some other stuff - http://dansmoncafe.blogspot.com/

I haven't had a chance to really dig in, but this is a taste of the offerings:

Rogue Bloggers Unite

In the spirit of meta-blogging, I must remark that as a WXYC DJ we have both the privilege and the expectation to post entirely nonsensical or otherwise random content to the blog out of hazy motive voids.

I just watched my friend's dog eat some leaves off of a plant. Then she walked over behind the couch and vomited up the leaves, along with some green bile. Then she made another puke on the floor next to that spot. Then she went back and licked up the goop, but not the partially chewed hunks of leaves, which are still on the floor. Thus I am reminded of that age-old rhyme "fatty fatty two by four" - you know how it goes .. .

The Jig is Up, 2007 ...

The dwindling days of December are no laughing matter for the music geek. It's time to cut the bullshit, roll up the sleeves and get down to business sculpting an unnecessarily obsessive "Best of ---- List" for no reason in particular, other than a self-affirming display of "how I spent my spare time this year." So here's a compilation of my 100 favorite albums from '07 (give or take one or two), starting with a numerically ranked Top 20, followed by an arbitrarily-ordered list of 80 other records well-deserving of recognition. I already wrote out a more descriptive list over at Dusted; you can check that out here. Of course, I had to add several releases that previously slipped my mind or just arrived in the mail, so here's a more comprehensive, "final" version. Most of these filtered through the playbox at WXYC, and we were thrilled to broadcast such goodness over our frequency. We've got big plans for '08 at our station, so keep listening and thanks for reading. Onward!

1. Ohsees - Sucks Blood (Castle Face)
2. Devin the Dude - Waitin To Inhale (Rap-A-Lot)
3. Pumice - Pebbles (Soft ABuse)
4. David Watson - Fingering An Idea (XI) / Throats (Ecstatic Peace)
5. Group Inerane/Group Doueh (Sublime Frequencies)
6. Pole - Steingarten (~scape)
7. Las Malas Amistades - Patio Bonito (Honest Jon's)
8. Burning Star Core - Operator Dead, Post Abandoned (No Quarter)
9. DJ Jazzy Jeff - Return of the Magnificent (Rapster)
10. Uncle Woody Sullender and Kevin Davis - The Tempest is Over (Dead CEO)
11. Dielectric Field Recording All-Stars - RE: Record (Dielectric)
12. Authenticite: The Syliphone Years (Stern's Africa)
13. Panda Bear - Person Pitch (Paw Tracks)
14. Psychedelic Horseshit - Magic Flowers Droned (Siltbreeze)
15. Voice of the Seven Woods - s/t (Twisted Nerve/B-Music)
16. Stephen Vitiello - Listening to Donald Judd (Sub Rosa)
17. Phosphorescent - Pride (Dead Oceans)
18. Shackleton/Applebim - Soundboy Punishments (Skull Disco)
19. Susan Howe and David Grubbs - The Souls of the Labadie Tract (Blue Chopsticks)
20. Art of Field Recording Vol. 1 (Dust-to-Digital)

I get tired of ranking after 20, so these probably aren't in any particular order:

MF Grimm - The Hunt For the Gingerbread Man (Class A)
No Age - Weirdo Rippers (Fat Cat)
People Like Us/Ergo Phizmiz - Perpetuum Mobile (Soleilmoon)
Theo Angell - Auraplinth (Digitalis)
DJ Elephant Power - Scratch the Hulu (Sonig)
La Drivers Union Por Por Group - Por Por: Honk Horn Music of Ghana (Smithsonian Folkways)
Brian Harnetty - American Winter (Atavistic)
UGK - Underground Kingz (Jive)
Oren Ambarchi - In the Pendulum's Warm Embrace (Touch)
Noah Creshevsky - To Know and Not to Know (Tzadik)
Wooden Shjips - s/t (Holy Mountain)
Kemialliset Ystavat - untitled (Fonal)
Ricardo Villalobos - Fabric 36 (Fabric)
Toby Dammit - The Legend of Apple Jack (Hit Thing)
Pan Sonic - Katadiviohe (Blast First)
Army of the Pharaohs - Ritual Battle (Babygrande)
Vibracathedral Orchestra - Wisdom Thunderbolt (VHF)
American Band - American Band's First Album (Blossoming Noise)
Dalek - Abandoned Language (Ipecac)
Disrupt - Foundation Bit (Werk)
Omar Souleyman - Highway To Hassake (Sublime Frequencies)
Tinariwen - Aman Iman (World Village)
Ov - Noctilucent Valleys (Soft Abuse)
Boxcutter - Glyphic (Planet Mu)
Demons - Evocation (No Fun)
Raccoo-oo-oon - Behold the Secret Kingdom (Release the Bats)
Robert Wyatt - Comicopera (Domino)
Spiritualaires of Hurtsboro Alabama - Singing Songs of Praise (Casequarter)
Flaming Fire - When the High Bell Rings (Silly Bird)
Von Sudenfed - Tromatic Reflexxions (Domino)
Circle - Katapult (No Quarter)
Akron/Family - Love Is Simple (Young Gods)
Dan Deacon - Spiderman of the Rings (Carpark)
M.I.A. - Kala (XL)
Deerhunter - Cryptograms (Kranky)
Keith Rowe - The Room (Erstwhile)
Mohammed "Jimmy" Mohammed - Hulgizey (Terp)
Mudboy - Hungry Ghosts! These Songs Are Doors (Digitalis)
Axolotl - Memory Theatre (Important)
Alec K. Redfearn and the Eyesores - The Blind Spot (Cuneiform)
Tujiko Noriko - Solo (Editions Mego)
High on Fire - Death Is This Communion (Relapse)
Ginaluca Becuzzi and Fabio Orsi - The Stones Know Everything (Digitalis)
Wzt Hearts - Threads Rope Spell Making Your Bones (Carpark)
Henry Flynt and Nova’Billy - s/t (Locust)
Jeru the Damaja - Still Rising (Ashenafi)
Michael Hurley - Ancestral Swamp (Gnomonsong)
Carl Stone - Al-Noor (In Tone)
Sir Richard Bishop - While My Guitar Violently Bleeds (Locust)
Samara Lubelski - Parallel Suns (Social Registry)
Turf Talk - West Coast Vaccine (Sick Wid It)
Infinite Livez vs. Stade - Art Brut Fe De Yoot (Big Dada)
Wiley - Playtime Is Over (Big Dada)
Magik Markers - Boss (Ecstatic Peace)
Black Milk - Popular Demand (Fatbeats)
Area C - Haunt (Last Visible Dog)
Richard Youngs - Autumn Response (Jagjaguwar)
Standing Nudes - Ghost Story (True Panther)
Pig Destroyer - Phantomb Limb (Relapse)
Devendra Banhart - Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon (XL)
Uke of Spaces Corners County -So Far on the Way (Corleone)
Flat Earth Society - Psycho Scout (Crammed)
Jazzkammer/Howard Stelzer - Tomorrow No One is Safe (Troniks/PacRec)
Yellow Swans - At All Ends (Load)
Burial - Untrue (Hyperdub)
Eats Tapes - Dos Mutantes (Tigerbeat6)
Babils - The Joint Between (Stilll)
V/A - I Belong To This Band (Dust to Digital)
Cadaver in Drag - Raw Child (Animal Disguise)
Jeff Rehnlund - Our Thin Mercy of Error (Hymns)
Exploding Customer - At Your Service (Ayler)
Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam (Domino)
Lubos Fiser - Valerie and Her Week of Wonders OST (Finders Keepers)
Tom Recchion - Sweetly Doing Nothing (Schoolmap)
Megafaun - Bury the Square (Burly Time)
Religious Knives - Remains (No Fun)
MV & EE with the Bummer Road - Green Blues (Ecstatic Peace)
Shape of Broad Minds - Craft of the Lost Art (Lex)
DJ Scotch Egg - Scotchhausen (ADAADAT)

And since I already had these mapped out:

Compilations:
-Dust to Digital records in general
-Authenticite: The Syliphone Years (Stern's Africa)
-The Roots of Chicha: Psychedelic Cumbias From Peru (Barbes)
-Carolina Funk (Jazzman)
-Songs of the African Coast: Cafe Music of Liberia (Yarngo)
-Everything Is a Theory (Cephia's Treat)
-La Kodi Ya City Council (Mississippi)
-Cult Cargo: Grand Bahama Goombay (Numero Group)
-Box of Dub: Dubstep and Future Dub (Soul Jazz)
-Awon Ojise Olorun: Popular Music of Yorubaland 1931-1952 (Savannaphone)

Reissues:
-Prince Jammy - Prince Jammy Destroy
-Ju Suk Reet Meate - Solo 78/79 or Do Unseen Hands Keep You Dumb? (De Stijl)
-Orlando Julius - Super Afro Soul (VampiSoul)
-Don Cherry/Jon Appleton - Human Music (Water)
-Tim Hecker - Radio Amor (Alien8/Mille Plateaux)
-Lee Rockey - Lee Rockey Music (De Stijl)
-Terry Riley - Music For the Gift (Ellison Fields)
-Noah Howard - Black Ark (Bo'Weavil)
-Dorothy Ashby - The Rubiyat of Dorothy Ashby (Dusty Groove America/Cadet)
-Annea Lockwood - Early Works 1967-82 (EM)

7", 12", Singles, EPs:
-The Bug feat. Killa P and Flow Dan - "Skeng"/"Skeng (Kode9 Remix)" (Hyperdub)
-Yikes - Whoa Comas/Blood Bombs (Kill Shaman)
-El Jesus De Magico 7" (Columbus Discount)
-Cloudland Canyon - Silver-Tongued Sisyphus (Kranky)
-Parts and Labor - Escapers One 12" (Broklyn Beats)
-Ariel Pink - My Molly (Tiny Creatures)
-Bass Invadurrz (frequeNC)
-Duran Duran Duran - Face Blast 12" (Planet Mu)
-Gorge Trio/Uske Orchestra - Divorce6 split 7" (Ache)
-Gaybomb/Ironing split LP (Hymns)

I feel much better now, thanks for your time. I hope you all have a very happy New Year ...

yrs,

-Cole-
cole@wxyc.org

The Simpsons! Radiohead!

There, that should just about cover all my bases, audiencewise. But yes, they are related! How does he do it?

Check out Making the Case for Fanboyism, a music-nerdy op-ed by me (an WXYC alum) in The Morning News (a Brooklyn-based online magazine). It's an essay about music criticism that somehow includes Radiohead, R. Kelly, Jens Lekman, and The Simpsons. Also, maybe you, and this guy:

Cheers.

A Comedy of Errors

The Feedback Farm has disappointed yet again. After promising that they were organized and ready to put on a great show, in their most recent episode the Farmers came across as unprepared and unprofessional as the show was seemingly plagued by technical difficulties and short tempers. After 60 minutes they still hadn't explored--or revealed!--the topic they came "prepared" to discuss!

How much longer will WXYC management continue to allow this sort of absurdity to occupy prime listening hours?

If you didn't hear what I am describing above, I recommend you download the programme here (29MB MP3), listen to it, take notes, and lodge your complaints with the Feedback Farmers to see if they will mend their ways. Email them at wxycfeedbackfarm at gmail dot com.

Bonus MP3

Happy Turkey Day

'Twas the night before Thanksgiving, so what else could the boys talk about? The Feedback Farmers sat down at the table and had a good old-fashioned Thanksgiving show last time out. You can hear it for yourself here (30MB MP3).

Word on the street is that the Farmers are more organized than ever for their next programme. Usually the show is haphazardly patched together, and even then things work out OK 15% of the time. There's no telling what heights they can reach when they actually prepare, and this might be the week we all find out.

You won't want to miss the next exciting episode of the Feedback Farm! Tune in Wednesday at 9pm WXYC time (North Carolina, USA) at 89.3FM in the Chapel Hill area or wxyc.org!

My Semi-Scathing Review

On my trip to California, which occured in early October, I was in attendance at a Magik Markers show at the Hemlock in San Francisco. It was through the wonder of coincidence and the magic of traveler's bones that I ran into David Harper and Nicole Bogas inside the stinky poo-poo Hemlock, which I left feeling rather doody. For a full account, see my snarky and jaded appraisal of the whole affair at Tiny Mix Tapes.

Love Ya-

CHI$$

Pet Sounds Remixed

I just stumbled upon a great remix album of The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. It's crafted by a British artist by the name of Bullion, who really appears to be just a bedroom producer. Anyway, the album is entitled 'Pet Sounds: In the Key of Dee' because it emulates, and pays tribute to, the late J Dilla. Initially I was under the impression that the whole thing was a mash-up but according to Bullion "NO DILLA DRUMS USED." I'm a tad suspect because it really does sound like something that Dilla produced himself- it's uncanny.

Bullion provides the whole thing (mp3s at 320 kb/s!) for free. Download it here.



ps. Couldn't make it out friday night. To those who went, how was the Carolina Funk release party at Hell?

Daedelus and Busdriver

I caught the Daedelus/Busdriver show this past friday at the local 506 and it was amazing. Daedulus was decked out in almost full conductor's attire (except for his jungle spotted new balances) and he prefaced his set by saying that he wanted to keep things more "up tempo" and that we (the audience) should let him know if we didn't like his direction. Daedelus kept his word; and I thoroughly enjoyed his performance despite the fact he ventured close to heavy-techno territory. Here's a very short clip of the show that I captured with my outdated Canon:



it looked and sounded much better live. Also, that box that he's playing is a version of this cool little contraption:



Busdriver went on last and was intense as usual. He was backed by Anti-mc (who provided the beats for Busdriver earlier in the year when he opened for RJD2 at the cradle) and another dj named Desert Eagle. Their standout song was a remix of Kill Your Employer, which had one of the hottest beats that I have ever heard (sorry, no vid for that). And to top things off, as soon as Busdriver left the stage there was an impromptu dance party which was still going on when I left at 2am.

good times.

Must Don't Whip 'Um

Hey folks! WXYC is cosponsoring a performance of Cynthia Hopkins and the Gloria Deluxe's Must Don't Whip 'Um tomorrow night at 8:00 pm in Memorial Hall. Hopkins stopped by the studio yesterday evening for an interview and in studio session with our very own Maxwell Supercool. Check out the media.

Robot Attack!

Robots took over the WXYC airwaves last night on the Feedback Farm. Are robots benevolent helpers of humanity or sinister machines plotting to overthrow their creators? There was a little of each on last night's programme, which, in terms of the Feedback Farm oeuvre, wasn't half bad.

Two ways in which the show have been better:
-Kevin* could have remembered to bring the vocoder, or
-Kevin could have given an on-air apology in a robot voice for not remembering to bring the vocoder.

If you want to hear about robot exoskeletons, ethical issues surrounding robot technology, underwater robot seals, and a debate over the relative merits of two robot songs ("Mr Roboto" and "Iron Man"), download the programme here (25MB MP3).

Oh, coincidentally, Captured! By Robots plays tonight at the Local 506.

============

*Kevin being Kevin Clark, wanted in both Arizona and North Carolina for unspecified crimes not involving robots.

Feedback Farm: Fun For The Entire Family

The Feedback Farmers visited the North Carolina State Fair with stolen press passes and filed this report (25MB MP3).

Tune in tonight (9pm WXYC time) for another episode of the Feedback Farm!

NEW MUSIC SHOW PLAYLISTS

The WXYC Music Dept has been flooded with great new stuff lately, making our bi-weekly program dedicated to fantastic & fresh releases radiate with aural goodness. The past two installments have been especially exciting, with a nice mish mash of genre and style. I was even decked out in my Johnny Ca$h costume for last week's show (black suit and thick gold chain with dollar sign). Check out the playlists!

New Music Show: Oct. 17, 2007

New Music Show: Oct. 31, 2007

Hi Ho, Hi Ho

Sorry it's taken me so long to post this--I've had SO MUCH WORK that I didn't have time to upload this recording.

Last time on the Feedback Farm, the Farmers dedicated the night to the working class. Isn't it touching that they thought of us? Well, give it a listen by clicking here (29MB MP3).

And then be sure to tune in TONIGHT (89.3FM in the Chapel Hill area or wxyc.org, don'cha know) at 9pm WXYC time for an exciting new episode of THE FEEDBACK FARM!

Desert Blues - The Sounds of Tuareg Rebellion

Two exciting additions to WXYC playbox feature releases focusing on guitar music from the Western Sahara, each representing opposite ends of the recording spectrum and providing a window into the volatile political climate of the area. They both embody the sound of Tuareg unrest that is once again intensifying in the region, since rebel Tuaregs began another uprising against the Nigerian government earlier this year. You can read about the conflict on the following links taken from Tinariwen's Web site (they're in French though, so get Google to translate 'em):

www.tamtaminfo.com
www.agadez-niger.com
www.republicain-niger.com

Group Inerane is the newer of the two releases, presented in the lo-fi Sublime Frequencies style and recorded live in Algeria. Tinariwen's record was released in March, and showcases the group's efforts in the studio after evolving their sound for over two decades and two prior full-lengths. Individual reviews with more details below:

Artist: Group Inerane
Album: Guitars From Agadez (Music of Niger)
Label: Sublime Frequencies

The second vinyl release from Sublime Frequencies continues to document Western Saharan guitar music (the first LP was Group Doueh, released earlier in the year), this time showcasing Bibi Ahmed and his Group Inerane.

Hailing from the currently tumultuous city of Agadez, Niger, the group exhibits a sound steeped in snaking, blues-rock influences and infused with Saharan folk, involving two electric guitars, a small drum kit and a chorus of vocalists. Recorded live by SF workhouse Hisham Mayet, the quality varies from track to track, but maintains a certain gritty charm that adds to the ecstasy of the group's performance.

The tracks range from psychedelic burnouts to plodding claps and soaring voices, bobbing rhythmically like a camel ride and inducing states of sandy trance. Their music is encompassed in the revolutionary rock of the Tuareg people, a sound that developed in the 1980s and 90s during the First Tuareg Rebellion as a political weapon for the rebels and an outlet of communication from Libyan refugee camps. The Nigerian government's failure to concede more political representation and economic compensation from the country's uranium deposits to the Tuareg since 1995 has led to a second uprising initiated by rebel Tuaregs earlier in the year, and is currently raging strong.

With music as captivating as this, Sublime Frequencies deserves applause once again for highlighting a region currently torn by conflict and deserving of attention from the outside world.

Artist: Tinariwen
Album: Aman Iman: Water is Life
Label: World Village

This group of nomads/soldiers/musicians from Mali has quite a backstory. The founding members of Tinariwen first met each other in the 1980s after being recruited to military camps in Libya, where they began fighting for the autonomy of their Tuareg people against the Malian and Nigerian government.

They began writing songs with their electric guitars, singing of their exile and struggle among the war-torn desert, drawing influence from the likes of Led Zeppelin and Hendrix. They've since given up their guns for guitars (though they once carried the two together), enjoying a fair amount of exposure since the late 90s from the likes of Robert Plant and Carlos Santanta, two of the musicians that originally inspired their desert trance-blues sound.

This is their third album proper, recorded in Bamako, Mali, and produced by Plant's guitarist Justin Adams to a finish that's a bit slick, but goes just far enough not to completely strip the music of its rustic mystique. Fronted by lead songwriter/vocalist/guitarist Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, the group usually contains around six guitarists and an equivalent amount of male and female vocalists and percussionists, delivering an entrancing brand of slippery guitar riffs and passionate campfire ballads in their native Tamashek tongue.

The group's droning desert sound might get a little too familiar after sitting through the album's entirety, but the music itself is performed with enough conviction to make this a compelling record, highlighted by the voice it gives to the hardships of the Tuareg and their fight for independence.

NEW MUSIC SHOW PLAYLIST: OCT. 3. 2007

After a several weeks of lonely hosting, the New Music Show finally featured two of two WXYC Music Directors on last week's show, sharing the mic, collaborating on the picks of the week, and geeking over the piano work of Michael Harrison. The mail bins have been quite full lately, so there was a lot to choose from. Those curious in what was featured on last week's NMS can find a playlist here.

In case you didn't know, the New Music Show happens every other Wednesday at 9pm on WXYC. Did you know you can listen live at wxyc.org?

This week's 9-10pm Wednesday slot is occupied by the Feedback Farm though, who are offering their salute to the working class! Tune in and detune...

SEPTEMBER PLAYBOX HIGHLIGHTS

The playbox at WXYC is currently bursting with quality new stuff, making the slow descent into Fall just a bit more tolerable. Little Howlin' Wolf made it all the way to #1 on our charts last week, how about that? Here's some highlights from the latest batch of rotation cuts, complete with short DJ-friendly reviews I wrote for the station. Stay tuned, October is coming.

Artist: Little Howlin' Wolf
Album: Cool Truth
Label: Heresee
South-Chicago street musician and outsider blues deconstructionist Little Howlin' Wolf (aka James Pobiega) released quite a few 7" singles back in the '70s and '80s, leaving behind an obscure trail of records just waiting to be re-released by some hip label. Leave it to Nautical Almanac owned and operated Heresee records to do the deed, reissuing Cool Truth - his first full-length record originally put out in 1985 and available here for the first time on CD. Recorded solo between 1979 and 1983, the tracks here resemble something like ragtime ran through a blender, garbled into junkyard blues and bouncing down the street like an over-packed cargo truck. His gravelly voice conjures Beefheart broken in half, spilled on the floor amongst a multi-tracked mix of sax, drums, guitar and harmonica. Pobiega's pained growls and shambling free-blues style are a perfect fit for the Heresee catalog - distorted lullabies from the deranged uncle you never knew.

Artist: Voice of the Seven Woods
Album: s/t
Label: Twisted Nerve / B-Music
The ever-reliable Finders Keepers/B-Music label/collective keeps the timeless tunes coming with some newly recorded jams by British psych-folk enthusiast Rick Tomlinson and his solo project, Voice of the Seven Woods. Tomlinson has been touring around the European underground for several years, self-releasing an array of CD-Rs, 7"s and cassettes that have long been out of print. Since Finders Keepers get their kicks from re-releasing criminally unavailable gems from music's mystical underbelly, it seems fitting for them to issue Tomlinson's first widely-distributed full-length - a splendid amalgamation of acoustic psych and Middle Eastern funk. He exhibits some damn fine chops on his acoustic guitar, weaving riffs that revolve on rollicking themes, picking up the oud and sitar to give the tracks more depth. A couple tunes even showcase Turkish funk breakdowns, livening up the lilt with trembling guitar and booty-shaking grooves. Despite the obvious care that was put into the records, an ancient haze lingers throughout; it sounds like it could be right out of 1972, but delivered with a fresh new smell. One of the most compelling releases steeped in the acoustic guitar to come along in some time, and with the bevy of finger-picking revivalists and folks-drone aficionados that currently clutter the music underground, that's saying something.

Artist: Shape of Broad Minds
Album: Craft of the Lost Art
Label: Lex
In true Madlib style, emcee/prodcucer Jneiro Jarel unveils his Shape of Broad Minds project, boasting contributions from four alter egos that reflect the various cities he's called home over the past 15 years: Brooklyn, Georgia, and his current residence in Philly. Jarel emphasizes the jazz kick like the aformentioned producer, paying homage to his blue note faves with recontexualized rhythms and space-station liftoff. His abstract hooks, inventive production and forward-thinking bumps shine, collapsing Jarel's various side projects into an impressive meld of hip hop for the new millennium (be-bop of the future past?). The personalities incorporated in the SOBM ensemble include: Jawaad (raps), Roque Wun (singing), Panama Black (raps), and Dr. Who Dat (production). A few guest MC spots are sprinkled in, most notably MF Doom's contribution to the "Let's Go" single. The concept may not be particularly new to the hip hop formula, but Craft of the Lost Art has enough unique cool to pull off inventive, even if gets a little too nostalgic for its own good at times. Still, Jarel's style is intelligent, bizarre, and a breath of fresh air from most of today's hip hop underground.

Artist: V/A
Album: Box of Dub: Dubstep and Future Dub
Label: Soul Jazz
For a label that's made its name with a massive catalog of dub, reggae and a variety of other danceable musics, it makes sense for London-based Soul Jazz to dip their hands into the dubstep sound that's been brewing in the southern part of the city for several years. This compilation basically sums up the heavy hitters in the scene, showcasing its bassy brand of club-ready dub. All these tracks are freshly produced for this release, with cuts by all the big boys; Digital Mystikz, Burial, Skream, Kode9 - along with some stand-up tracks by other producers like Scuba, Sub Version and King Midas Sound. The artists here display several different variations on dubstep's framework, skulking though delay-drenched soul samples, wobbly kneed low-end, and the cold sweat of urbanized London wasteland. Some of the samples and effects treatment come off a bit cheezy, but these fellows know what they're doing - delivering a head-nodding blend of throbbing bass caked in digital warmth. Whether it be a steady, dance-ready thump or a sparse buildup with subsequent explosion, the tracks here can get addictive. Hopefully, this won't be the last dubstep effort from Soul Jazz - with any luck, they'll keep up with the scene as it continues to evolve.

Artist: People Like Us & Ergo Phizmiz
Album: Perpetuum Mobile
Label: Soleilmoon
Through a self-proclaimed "schizophrenic open source compositional process," like-minded plunderphonic all-stars and UK residents People Like Us (aka Vicki Bennett) and Ergo Phizmiz team up in a vortex of zany audio snippets, looped jingle jangle and ridiculous recontextualizations. Over the course of a year, the two used a shared server to upload and download files to and from one another, editing and amalgamating the stolen sources with frequent regurgitation. The album isn't completely lifted however, as both Phizmiz and Bennett dubbed in vocal accompaniments here and there to augment their loony concoctions. Everything seems rosy on the surface, but the layering and sampling depth are quite disorienting and clinically deranged, as is most of their work. You can download the dubplates that they made for the record on PLU's site, so why not try your luck at a remix?

The Feedback Farm Travels Abroad

On a "normal" day it's hard to understand what those Feedback Farmers are saying and doing, but this past week they were definitely speaking a foreign language.

In celebration of the European Day of Languages--September 26th every year--the Farmers explored language, European Languages in particular. The goals of the European Day of Languages are three-fold:

1) Alert the public to the importance of language learning and diversify the range of languages learned in order to increase plurilingualism and intercultural understanding.
2) Promote the rich linguistic and cultural diversity of Europe.
3) Encourage lifelong language learning in and out of school.

It's debatable whether the Farmers furthered any of these lofty aims. You can decide for yourself by clicking here (25MB MP3).