MiS | Moving in Stereo

Midwest hip-hop seems to all I rock these days. Minnesota rhymesayer Slug and his backing band Ant are Atmosphere. Beats and rhymes about ex-girls, getting drunk and urinating in fish tanks, introspective thoughts, homages to Minnesota, ETC. When he’s playing around, you can’t help but smirk; when Slug is being real, you can’t help and admire his sincerity. His verses with Murs are always a good time.

Since Atmosphere has done well for themselves the past decade, Slug wants to thank you again. This time, it’s an up of a seven cut EP. Check a sample below and after that, enjoy the EP. Thanks, Slug.

Atmosphere :: C’mon

Atmosphere :: Leak at Will EP

you see, that is the problem with being a fan of modern funk/soul. more than any other genre i can think of, it is always being compared to its past. critics bomb it. consumers more or less bomb it. like, how the fuck can we compare a soul album in 2009 with one from 1964? of course it’s not as good when set beside sam cooke or james brown or stax or all that early 70s southern soul groove that smokes.

i mean, why even listen to anything that isn’t the pinnacle of its genre? everything’s been done better before, right? so why don’t we do this with other genres?

The funk, soul brother is one I’m still playing catch up with. That chase will go on forever – the catalog is almost infinite, because it’s been in the making for forty plus years, right? Instead of backtracking to the greats of the past, I’ve ventured into modern day soul igniters – like Raphael Saadiq and even the white wonder: Jamie Lidell. Since I’ve yet to truly dive into the 60’s and 70’s movement of soul, I don’t know better; these moderns sound excellent to me.

Which brings us to 2009 ’s My World masterfully presented by Lee Fields and The Expressions. With age comes experience and wisdom; Lee Fields has both, but also a knack for laying down the throaty jams that have the potential to smoke. Sure, these present-day composers bite the classics of yesterday; but when they are taking from the old, their blend with the new and modern creates something fresh for all to delve into. A record I keep returning to. Who knows, maybe his name will materialize in my next Last FM Wordle. See why below…

Lee Fields and The Expressions :: Do You Love Me (Like You Say You Do)

Lee Fields and The Expressions :: Last Ride

Remember when it was a huge deal when artists you respect and enjoy were on late night television? I’d go out of my way to let the crew know; set the Tivo and simply be amazed a coveted act is on a major network: The Features are on Kimmel tonight! Well, that was a big deal then and still is today. Autolux on Kimmel? But how about when out of the blue, LCD Soundsystem are all of a sudden on Letterman? Really? Maybe me, but isn’t it now common that bands in rotation by you are making the rounds on all the major networks? You can always tell the audience is going through the motions when one of these bands we like more than them are being showcased – the lack of enthusiasm and forced applause –if any – is plenty apparent.

It seems like Stereogum or your favorite board are showcasing on a weekly basis last night’s performance by bands you didn’t think we’re ready for the masses. Do they deserve the exposure? Most definitely. Take ex-Polyphonic Spree/ex-Sufjan Stevens’ bandmate St. Vincent unleashing “Marrow”. She’s received the exposure and accolades; and now she also makes her network debut on you guessed it, late night television.

This is some sophisticated shit – and when those horns come alive, I don’t know if I should stand in disbelief or move my feet.

Instead of receiving one big helping of psychetronica, care of Maps, or a leak of his forthcoming Turning The Mind, I like these tasters the man is serving us. It has kept me anxious for his second full-length to be unleashed. “Let Go Of The Fear” is hard hitting and heavy on the trance atmospherics; “Valium In The Sunshine” is reminiscent of the We Can Create era – with whisper-like vocals and light pulsating beats, or music to lose yourself in while doing nothing. Bedroom dreamin’ at its best.

And now we have “Everything is Shattering”. As expected, from the rather somber title, the theme is about loss.

..about losing the true love of your life, and then having to settle for the next best thing, because, I guess sometimes you just have to. And it can be a really painful experience in the long term.

But upon listening, you’ll quickly notice the overall uplifting tone throughout. James had this also to say about today’s taster:

Everything Is Shattering can be taken to mean different things (feel free to comment on what you get from listening to it!!), it can either mean ’shattering’ as in ‘everything is falling apart’, OR it can mean, although life IS shitty a lot of the time, it can also be shatteringly beautiful some of the time . Even if only for brief moments.

Regardless of its true theme, I await Turning the Mind in September…

Maps :: Everything is Shattering (MySpace stream)