Samiyam - Sam Baker's Album (2011)

Sounds like J Dilla. Blogs call it post-Dilla stuff. People in real-life call it timeless. It's deceptively simple-sounding. Instrumental hip-hop/beat music that stylistically shares a lot with jazz compositions. Samiyam is different from Dilla in the sense that he strays from using only samples and actually uses synths ...a lot. Get the sub-woofer out of the closet for this one though and make sure the neighbors are out visiting grandma cause it's about to get loud. Big release.

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Clams Casino - Rainforest EP (2011)

Clams Casino is Mike Volpe. Mike Volpe is known for the collaborative work he has done with Indie/Based rap sensation, Lil B. Until recently, Mike didn't really know how to make a song in 320kbps. This is a guy who searches for random sound files on Limewire so he can slow them down to a molasses-like crawl and later, throw a doom/dread/end-of-the-world-like beat over it all and call it a track... In WFLM-layman terms, this is glittery beat-music. Think: hard-knock drums, slowed-down gauzy vocal stabs and extremely lo-fi recording techniques. All of this, covered in digital moss, of course. This is a Tri Angle Records production after all.

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This Will Destroy You - Tunnel Blanket (2011)

thought i was done with post-rock. maybe not. heavy like ol' school Explosions and Mogwai are heavy. tripped me out, downtown NYC minimalism lives. very cool stuff.

here

Death Grips - Exmilitary (2011)

my favorite hip-hop release of the year, esteemed Sactown drummer Zach Hill (Hella, El Grupo Nuevo de Omar Rodriguez Lopez, Bygones) and emcee Ride's experimental hip-hop outfit Death Grips' debut mixtape. raw as fuck. tore up Low End Theory this past week, made motherfuckers mosh and dance silly. good for wyatting when people insist on listening to that fucking Cults album.

happy birthday MR. KIM!

Roland Kirk - The Inflated Tear (1968)

written off mostly as a gimmick for playing multiple saxes at the same time, Kirk nonetheless made a string of near classic albums in multiple styles, from hard/post avant-bop (Rip, Rig & Panic) to soul/funk grooves (Now Please Don't You Cry, Beautiful Edith) before finding his stride as a composer on The Inflated Tear. easygoing, deeply bluesy and a bit sad, these fantastically original compositions showcase the band's smooth playing and Kirk's unique harmonies. there are some riotous tunes here as well, but my favorite tracks are the slower paced cuts, like opener Black & Crazy Blues, Fingers in the Wind, and especially the killer title track. for fans of Mingus and Pharaoh.

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devonwho - Funraiser Vol.1: Thumbtracks (2009)

17 beats. Synthed out future 2-step boogie. Beats from LA via way of Portland, OR. Highly infectious stuff. Snap with it!

Download.

Lovage - Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By [Deluxe Reissue] (2011)

The original 2001 release has been out-of-print for years. This deluxe reissue has been expanded and the 2xCD edition now features the original release tracks plus bonus instrumentals. As Steve Holt! said last year, "sounds sort of like Portishead meets Danger Mouse. Downtempo beats provided by Dan the Automator and smooth sexy vocals by Mike Patton and Jeniffer Charles." When talent meets humor, you get Lovage.

Download Disc 1 (Original)

Download Disc 2 (Instrumentals)

The Men - Leave Home (2011)

exciting release from punk-ish outfit The Men. despite the Ramones name check, hard to peg them as just punk, or hardcore, or post-punk, or sludge, or krautrock, as these influences pop up all over the album but don't really stick from song to song. this is the sort of record that could've been an instant classic if they'd had an extra few days in the studio - for the outright furious and fuzzed out tracks it doesn't really matter, but for tunes with more intricate lines and songwriting the higher production values would have really made a difference. either way, this is fucking good and word is their live show is something special.

and i propose to you that it takes 5 seconds

Moderat - Moderat (2009)

This record combines the four-on-the-floor dance shuffle of techno with the simplistic, yet dark appeal of dubstep. Moderat is what you would define as a super group. Electronic/dance outfit Modeselektor join IDM-artist, Apparat to create a true German-infused techno/IDM/dubstep/electro hybrid. Interesting cover art too.

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Jónsi & Alex - Riceboy Sleeps (2009)

Music that sounds like a film. You'll hear orchestral drones, whispering strings, floating synths, washed-out choir samples, manipulated found-sounds and an absence of beats. The average track length is about 7.6 minutes so take your time when listening to this one. Heady music. Headphones recommended.

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cLOUDDEAD - Ten (2004)

cLOUDDEAD is a super hip-hop group c0mposed of Why?, Doseone and Odd Nosdam. It's always been considered to be a side-project. They rap about dog carcasses, sticking roses in deer antlers and occasionally wander off into mumble-rap territory. To label this as a simple rap/hip-hop album would be doing it a disservice. The instrumentals themselves could be released as a stand-alone record. Imagine beats made from found sounds, ambient drones, stuttery vocals and broken riddims. Now picture three white guys rapping about the stuff no one else will touch. That's Ten.

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Actress - Harrier ATTK (2011)

Slow-motion dubstep. Think lazy Sunday afternoon dance floor shuffle slowed down to a ridiculous 72 BPM crawl. The title track may be a reference to the 1983 computer game of the same name (except ATTK is actually attack,) or not... For this release, Actress is simply soundtracking the end of the world and putting the listener in the cockpit of a souped-up Harrier Attack helicopter. Pay close attention to the muted clicks and static brush sweeps of this epic 6:31 track. The B-side features "Gershwin," a slightly more up-tempo track that embraces the lasery blips and quasi-8-bit/synth-driven arpeggios of video games from the 80s.

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Burial - Street Halo (2011)

Burial, you've definitely heard of him. A lot of people thought he was Richard D. James (Aphex Twin) or Norman Cook (Fatboyslim) for a real long time. Turns out he's not. His close friends know him as William Bevan or, Will. He was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2008. He's popular because a lot of people claim he reinvented dubstep, or something like that. He's known to mix his dubstep with 2-step and ambient house-type music. Vinyl crackle, tape hiss, vocal samples, it's all here on this release, undeniably Burial. The title track sounds like something straight out of the Blade soundtrack while "NYC" slows things down for a bit of a molasses-BPM jam. On the B-side, "Stolen Dog," which honestly is the standout track, slaps you across the face with muted house jabs and ambient melodies. Listen with headphones for 100x bliss.

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Jamie xx - Jamie xx (2011)

A WFLM exclusive. The most comprehensive collection of Jamie xx tracks and remixes to date! 9 remixes and 2 originals to be exact. As Jamie prepares to release his debut LP, it only seems fitting to take a look back at everything he's done post-The xx and from the looks of it, he's been keeping busy. From remixing Gil Scott-Heron, Nosaj Thing, FaltyDL and Adele to Florence & the Machine and even The xx, his style spans several very different genres. If you've ever been curious about the Jamie xx sound then this collection is just for you. Tip!

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Holy Other - With U (2011)

This is an EP. 22 minutes. Released via Tri Angle Records. Tri Angle Records is home to Balam Acab, oOoOO, Clams Casino and others. After a first listen, everything on the record will sound like witch-house. Listen a second time and you may catch some 90s R&B influences, vague chill-wave references, several screwed & chopped techniques (reminiscent of Salem,) and lots of hip-hop beat influences. You'd expect this to sound lo-fi but it's actually quite crisp & clean-sounding. It's like an amalgamation of everything 90s and good about music but done in 2011, with a slight twist.

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Blue Sky Black Death - Noir/Noir + Violet (2011)

A duo: Kingston and Young God. Sorta like M83 except more hip-hop-centric. NOIR is their newest LP. NOIR + VIOLET is an extension of that release: 8 screwed tracks. If witch-house/Salem sounded more like a slowed-down film soundtrack, it'd be this. Having said that, this is nothing like witch-house. More like, Explosions in the Sky + Ratatat... Yeah.

Two for the price of one this time.

Download Noir

Download Noir + Violet

Austra - Feel it Break (2011)

This album has created quite the buzz in Toronto. Local favorite Katie Stelmanis, long known for her pop sensibilities and operatic vocals, has reinvented herself under Austra. The album falls somewhere between the danceability of La Roux and the dark of Fever Ray.

Enjoy

Sneak peek (thanks to Toronto Standard):

Jacob Miller - Who Say Jah No Dread (1975)

classic release featuring the dub/roots holy trinity of Jacob Miller's soulful vocals, Augustus Pablo's hard-hitting production, and King Tubby's subtle dubbing. each of the 6 vocal tracks is paired with a dub version, which are classics in their own right - "Baby I Love You So" was dubbed to create "King Tubby Meets the Rockers Uptown", which is like the Planet Rock of dub and damn near defined the entire genre. while all of these songs were later re-recorded/dubbed for other projects, these are THE definitive versions and they belong in your music library.

too much commercialization of rastafari

Jamie xx - Far Nearer/Beat For 7" (2011)

Steel drums have never sounded so good. Opener and title track, "Far Nearer" takes the phrase "I feel better when I have you near me" and pitches the fuck out of it, creating an unrecognizable, albeit pleasantly catchy 7-minute epic. B-side "Beat For" follows in the steps of post-dubstep pioneers James Blake and Mount Kimbie. Though it's not as catchy as "Far Nearer," it'll certainly please those looking for a more sinister and dark sound. Highly recommended!

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Alternate Download (Filesonic)

Purchase Vinyl

Edit: The mediafire links are almost immediately taken down. Filesonic seems to last (a bit longer.)

Sheep,Dog&Wolf - Ablutophobia (2011)

best nz release of the year so far. really timeless/location-less. soooo good. pay for this shit if you can. artist's description:

My name is Daniel McBride, 17 years of age, and Ablutophobia EP is the result of 9 months on-and-off recording in a tiny little studio I've managed to set up in my bedroom. I composed and performed all the songs by myself, borrowing various instruments to try and live up to the ideas I had in my head - an endeavour that saw me teach myself cello and euphonium, simply because I'd decided they were essential to the song.
This obsessiveness with which I record has resulted in a lot of sleepless nights, food-less days, and social-contact-less weeks, but I think that it's been worth it. This EP marks the first, and certainly not the last, release from Sheep,Dog&Wolf; a project that for the last nine months has been my steadily growing and increasingly demanding music-baby. So please, download and enjoy!

Sheep,Dog&Wolf