#465
Out the gate with ominous sounds of "Dreams of a Dead Dreamer," the latest from modern-day ethno honkies Ak'Chamel via Akuphone. David Grubbs leads us to "Opposite Lanes" by Lil Ugly Mane from his genre-defying album Oblivion Access. I've been after this record for years and was happy to turn up a copy in Boston while on a digging spree with my road dawg skillits. Berke Can Ozcan & Jonah Parzen-Johnson bring a wide-open reed-and-keys improvisation from the We Jazz universe, then Steve Tibbets and Hackamore Brick pull the set in two directions at once.
Another recent scoop from the Boston trip shows up in the form of Butthole Surfers' twisted yet insanely catchy "Creep in the Cellar," the opening track from their second studio album. This is definitely one of those moments where KEMS' influence comes through. He's got me out here chasing $60 Butthole Surfers records while on vacation.
Os Mutantes, Close Lobsters, and Spring Reverbs each stake out their own corner. The back half hits hard with two deep cuts from Deeper Concentration Volume 2. DJ Spooky & Organized Konfusion deliver their highly slept-on "Murder By Syntax" and Pharoahe Monch shines like only he can. That's followed by Siah & Yeshua Da Poed's "The Cure For Stagnation." Kinda like ATC Radio.
Booker Stardrum's hypnotic percussion-laced "Hover" lives up to its name. Litto Nebbia closes things out from deep in the Argentine crates.
EL DJ KEMS comes in through the International Anthem trifecta: Dos Santos, Resavoir & Matt Gold, SML. A generational run of amazing recordings. Get familiar if you're not! Cutting into Rawkus-era backpack rap with Sir Menelik, golden age legends Stetsasonic and Main Source in tight succession, before bridging into Dinosaur Jr. and Mission of Burma holding the noisy middle. Different sound, same energy. Can't have an ATC show without reppin our love for free jazz, and Clint Jackson III & Byard Lancaster and Albert Ayler with Don Cherry carry the flag into battle. Show favorite Swarvy, Contour, and a Prefuse 73 find a way to mellow it all the way down only to hit the drone zone with oozing "Reel 2" by Austin noise bros Water Damage. You're lucky you stuck around.
rap79
Ak'Chamel - Dreams of a Dead Dreamer (Akuphone) David Grubbs - Creep Mission (Blue Chopsticks) Lil Ugly Mane - Opposite Lanes (Fashionable Death) Berke Can Ozcan & Jonah Parzen-Johnson - That's Not What This Is (We Jazz) Afro Algonquin - While Dancing With Dolphins (Moers Music) Steve Tibbets - The Big Wind (ECM) Hackamore Brick - Got A Gal Named Wilma (Karma Sutra) Butthole Surfers - Creep in the Cellar (Touch'n'Go) Close Lobsters - Mother of God (Enigma) Os Mutantes - Ave Gengis Khan (Polydor) Blue Phantom - Distillation (Spider) Spring Reverbs - Mon Frere Exile (Mind Expansion) The Replacements - Swingin Party (Sire) Dj Spooky & Organized Knofusion - Murder by Syntax (Om) Siah & Yeshua Da Poed - The Cure For Stagnation (Om) Booker Stardrum - Hover (We Jazz) Litto Nebbia - Bazar De Los Milagros (Trova)
KEMS
Dos Santos - A Shot In The Dark (International Anthem) Twin Talk - Nine (Shifting Paradigm) Resavoir & Matt Gold - Memento (International Anthem) Sir Menelik - 7XL feat. Grand Puba & Sadat X (Rawkus) Stetsasonic - Go Stetsa (Groove Sound) Main Source - Think (Actual) Greyson & Jasun - Hard As They Come (Atlantic) Dinosaur Jr. - The Lung (Merge) Mission of Burma - That's How I Escaped My Certain Fate (Ace of Hearts) Black Eyes - Break A Leg (Dischord) Moin - I Don't Know Where To Look (AD 93) Prefuse 73 - Vast Wildlife Poison (Lex) SML - Plankton (International Anthem) Clint Jackson III & Byard Lancaster - Mother Africa, in 3 parts (Souffle Continu) Albert Ayler with Don Cherry - Holy Spirit (Org Music) Swarvy - Stunts, Volume Two (Street Corner Music) Contour - Common Ground (Soon Come) Visioneers - Jungle Green Outlines (Omniverse) Prefuse 73 - Busy Signal (Make You Go Bombing Mix) Water Damage - Reel 2 (12XU)