The Groove Thief

2000 Tons of TNT re-imagine the vintage on Reggae Mysteria. Funky upbeat instruments like the excellent title track and the following “Cougar Communion” are sharp and well-polished, the latter featuring some wicked keys. While certainly retro-inspired, this is an updated and varied take on the past as the garage-rock of “Shot In The Dark,” the slightly-Eastern funk of “Tiger Uppercut,” and the well-passed melody on “Rabo De Toro” all show. This is dirty garage rock with ample funk and early reggae influences, but great cuts like “Electric Pyramid” don’t deserve to be pinned down by genres. “Theme For Ambu” features some nice heavy drumming and another wicked keyboard solo, before “I’m Feeling Lonely” closes with its skanking guitar. This is a unique mix of musical styles, coming out of San Diego, CA, that is pushing the past forward in all the right ways. Hopefully their follow-up, expected in 2013, will continue the inspiring trend:

01/01/13 UPDATE: Here’s two new tracks (currently available for free) as a new album preview:

Eclectically-sampled beats comprise GHprodu’s freshman beat tape, Beats Overdue,  alternates between lush orchestration, digital rhythms, and various interpolations of funkiness. Some elements are hyper-futuristic, while others have been well dug for. This concoction of influences means each beat is hard to pin down… opener “Clad Myriad” crashes such genres together, while “Time To Go” is much more chilled out; standout “Take Two” features a piano alongside gritty Eastern string-work, before a flute shows up almost late for the jam; “Do It” is bombastic, perhaps awaiting a proper outro; finale “Back” is the strongest in the latter half, an alien disco of of sorts. This is an interesting collection of beats, well-worth a listen if you know no beat is too underground:

Jstar, perhaps the dancehall’s most eclectically-influenced remixer, reaches far afield on his latest project, embracing the gypsy-funk of “Balkan Reggae” by Mahala Rai Banda. These are next level beats, simultaneously haunting and upbeat. A few more recent collabs are worth checking out as well, including a remix of Reggae Rajahs’ Johnny Osbourne dubplate “Buddy Bye” and the mashup hip-hoppery of “Marijuana Situation.”

Slightly Stoopid are delightfully predictable on the recently released Top Of The World. Smooth guitars, funky bass, catchy vocals with ample harmonies, and plenty of reggae, dub, punk, and other influences mixed in. The title track starts this SoCal party record off; long-time fans are rewarded with a funky-dubby version of “Devil’s Door;” “Way You Move” has vocals that perfectly slide in the ear; “Drink Professionally” may end up at reggae-loving frat parties, but it still has a great groove. The guest artists reflect the varying influences of the band, with Barrington Levy, Angelo Moore, Chali 2na, and G. Love (amongst others) making an appearance. For instrumentalists, “Deal With Rhythm” and “Rhythm Street” are both nice and simple jams, and while overall this is a rather mellow record, it is enjoyably upbeat and well worth a listen:

And don’t worry, there is a hidden punk rock jam at the end if you’re wondering where that side of Slightly Stoopid has gone…

Da Rocinha, from Sango, delivers Brazil-gone-bass: “funk carioca” taken to the future. The unsubtly-titled “Tremendo o Bumbum” delivers throbbing low-end theory layered with chopped drums and vocals. “Não Solta Não” hints at what a South American slow-jam by M.I.A. or Santigold would sound like; “Passinho Kudoro” and “Todo o Mundo” are both uptempo bangers for a dirty basement party; “Fica Caladinha” is Portuguese dancehall, heavy and sticky in the ears. Great stuff on this well-produced and nicely-fused EP off of Soulection. FREE:

 

BONUS BEAT:

On Superpowers, West Coast electro-futurist The Polish Ambassador decreases his trademark funkiness in order to increase his musical sex appeal. This EP is dripping with sleek, polished (haha) synths delicately laid atop chilled-out bass-lines. Ordinarily TPA drops booty-shaking anthems, here the booties are shaking for entirely different reasons and in an entirely different place: the intergalactic bedroom. This is a cohesive album, the tracks run together smoothly, and the fact that nothing stands out is a testament to the efforts of a multi-talented producer. Available as a free download, this will be playing at an alien sex party near you:

Kabanjak & Fat Albert Einstein have combined forces on a potent new melodica dub EP, Dub O’ Dup. With heavy bass rumbles, haunting melody lines, and piles of echo and reverb, the spirit of Augustus Pablo has been given due respect by these talented multi-instrumentalists. The organic sounds emerge beautifully on heady dubs like “Southern Hemi,” which slowly skanks alongside a gliding solo. The Ancient Astronauts - recently-reviewed! - remix of “Rail To Rail” (free to download) is warm and funky with a smooth horn-line, while “Shame Is A Lonely Word” feels like a dub dirge. “As Above” sounds timeless, hazy in all the right ways, but what’s personally most exciting is the remix contest the artists are running. There’s a great chilled-out remix out of “Dub O’ Dup,” called The Groove Thief Dreams Of Dub Mix, so you can probably understand my particular bias towards it:

Ancient Astronauts, Germany’s poly-dub explorers, have recently released two free funky tracks off of their Orion Nebula Remixes album. Their own Tuffist Mix of “Give It To You” feat. Monsoon has a heavy bass-line and reverberating vocals that create the type of future/past dance-floor the group has become famous for. Greece’s Timewarp Inc. lets the plucky bass take over on their remix of “Anti Pop Song,” before horns and echoed voices are unleashed halfway through the track. As some extra goodies, check out the album snippet mix and the video for “Give It To You” (Subatomic Sound System Remix):