Beat tapes are something im getting increasingly distracted by, not least because of the groove they are offering but because its good to hear influences on people making the beats.
Recently the ‘Soft Focus’ tape by Vanilla has been ever present. Again, its a bewilderment that a 27 track album can be offered up for free or on a name your price basis, especially when the beats have this much soul.
Its clear to hear the influences on UK producer Vanilla and rather point to that I’d like to point at this release that keeps the head bouncing and the inner groove going from start to finish.
Cut up beats alongside warm vocals and grooves conjure up a fantastic brew. Bag it and try to listen from start to finish without rewinding to play, at least, more than one track twice. No chance!
Once again, searching the web for some killer remixes and/ or productions, I was more than pleasantly surprised to stumble across a young producer from Charlotte, USA. Theres actually 6 pieces to pick up on his Bandcamp page but its this remix album I’ve fallen for.
Scottie Royal crafts Hip-Hop remixes that sit perfectly alongside the carefully selected vocals. I’ve had this on rotation in the car for the best part of a month and it still sounds fresh.
There’s an incredible amount of soul and funk on offer here and more than enough for you to realise that Scottie Royal is a proficient producer who clearly understands his music and his tools.
A personal favorite is the K-OS track, Burning Bridges.
Bag the whole lot and chuck him some monetary rewards because this guy is a badman.
Here at the Robot Bodypop our ethos has been the focus on future beats leaning more towards the more electronic side of music however we also feel anyone doing anything new with existing music also deserves mentions.
As big Hip-Hop fans we’re loving the work beatsmith Freddie Joachim has produced over the last few years with his fresh and ,dare we say it, more soulful take on some of some of hip-hops finest tracks. To take a look at how this guy works, check him out in his studio
Born in the Philippines, and raised in San Diego, CA, Freddie is a keen listener and collector of hip hop, jazz, and soul music. Starting as most of us do with DJing in 1996 he slowly progressed into recording and production, and musicianship. It’s these remixes that have caught our recent attention despite being available for some time. Tracks in there from Common, Mos Def, Erykah Badu, Slum Village, Mothod Man & Redman and even the dark vibes from Mobb Deep is reworked into soulful brilliance
Not too sure how long these remixes will remain available as they are put out there by the man himself here. Full tracklisting below and a direct link to all the tracks can be found hosted here. Get involved.
VOL. 1 (2005)
01. Mos Def – Travellin Man (Freddie Joachim Remix)
02. Mobb Deep – Quiet Storm (Freddie Joachim Remix)
03. Talib Kweli – Get By (Freddie Joachim Remix
04. Common – The Corner (Freddie Joachim Remix)
05. Erykah Badu – On & On (Freddie Joachim Remix)
06. Mos Def – Work It Out (Freddie Joachim Remix)
07. Scarface – Smile Ft 2pac (Freddie Joachim Remix)
08. Reflection Eternal – Good Mourning (Freddie Joachim Remix)
09. Common – The Light (Freddie Joachim Remix)
10. Homeliss Derilex – Cash Money (Freddie Joachim Remix)
VOL. 2 (2006)
01. Mos Def – Mathematics (Freddie Joachim Remix)
02. Reflection Eternal – Move Somethin (Freddie Joachim Remix)
03. Cypher Optics – Stimutax (Freddie Joachim Remix)
04. Method Man & Redman – How High (Freddie Joachim Remix)
05. Beatjunkies – Sick Days Ft LMNO (Freddie Joachim Remix)
06. Little Brother – The Way You Do It (Freddie Joachim Remix)
07. Mos Def – Ms Fat Booty (Freddie Joachim Remix)
VOL. 3 (2007)
01. Common – Resurrection (Joachim Remix)
02. Common – The Light (Freddie Joachim Remix)
03. Freddie Joachim – Brown Crayon
04. Freddie Joachim – The Generations
05. Jill Scott – Love Rain Ft Mos Def (Head Nod Joachim Remix)
06. Nas – If I Ruled The World (Freddie Joachim Remix)
07. Nice & Smooth – Blazing Hot (Freddie Joachim Remix)
08. Talib Kweli – Get By (Joachim Remix)
09. Talib Kweli – Rock On (Joachim Remix)
VOL. 4 (2008)
01. Freddie Joachim – Marie Ft Choice37 (Remix)
02. Common – I Used To Love Her (Freddie Joachim Remix)
03. Common – The Light Ft Erykah Badu (Freddie Joachim Remix)
04. Freddie Joachim – Matter Of Time Ft Surreal (Remix)
05. Himuki – Hold On Ft Sene (Freddie Joachim Remix V.2)
06. Slum Village – EZ Up (Freddie Joachim Remix)
07. Slum Village – Get Dis Money (Freddie Joachim Remix)
08. The Office – Dunder Mifflin Infinity (Freddie Joachim Remix)
09. Freddie Joachim – Love Is Ft Profile & Latanya Lockett (Remix)
10. Son Of Ran – As Long As There’s You (Freddie Joachim Remix)
11. Stevie Wonder – Uptight (Freddie Joachim Remix)
12. Freddie Joachim – Color Blue
13. Freddie Joachim – Summer Breeze
I dont know about you but
the music I have on rotation often emulates whatever musical bubble
I’m currently floating around in. At the moment I’m going in on
deep hiphop and with sites like Soundclound and Bandcamp having
search bars I honestly feel I don’t have enough time to explore the
amount of good work out there. Thankfully, however, I stumbled upon Pawcut from Germany. Lucky for you and me there’s
free downloads in abundance from this guy and the recent E.P, The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of, is
just that. The beats are broken but still keep the head nodding
while the samples twist up your emotions. It’s both melancholy and
straight vibing. Piano licks are in abundace here and there’s
strings that make you forget you’re listening to hip hop.
Incredible work from such a positive producer. Bag this, it’s
beautiful.
artwork from “Hello, I’m Robot!” by Stanislav Zigunenko (Russian Kids’ Book, 1989)
Flying solo once again with the new format it’s myself Killian selecting from a mixed bag this week. Deep vibes throughout and even taking a small HipHop excursion with Snakehips, Gummy Soul & Fresh as I’ve recently discovered Bandcamp is an absolute goldmine for concept albums from indie producers.
There some deep dub in there, most notably a free track from Djinn, thats a wicked remix of a Numan track so check for that. Some roots vibes in there too from Egoless and Matta checks in with a remix of French producers Niveau Zero & Tambour Battant. Dark and moody vibes from Kode 9 vs Badwai and to fend of the dark theres glorious tracks from our best kept secret, Londy as well as rising talen Es.Tereo. New D&B vibes from Breaks Symmetry label make this show as varied as it’s ever been. Get keen and listen in.
Things She Say – Londy
Den Of Drumz – Kode 9 vs Badwai
Secrets (Djinn RMX) – Numan
Before Dub – Egoless
Big What (Matta RMX) – Niveau Zero & Tambour Battant
Red Sound – Yosi Horikawa & Dorian Concept
Talinn – Kusto
Who We Are – Break
Third Act – Prolix
Pardon Me – Snakehips
Heart – Fresh
4 Better Or 4 Worse – Gummy Soul
Purple Sky – Es.Tereo
Thanks to Amerigo Gazaway of Gummy Soul, this free album sees possibly my two favourite rap crews from the East and West Coasts, A Tribe Called Quest and The Pharcyde, join forces for this 14-track project. Mixing and matching vocals and instrumentals from both camps, this makes for ‘gems that never were’ like Pharcyde’s ‘Runnin’ set to the rhythm of Tribe’s ‘Electric Relaxation’. Incredible. Stream, download and embark on the Quest to The Pharcyde.
Download the full album here at Bandcamp with an instrumental release there too.
Robot Bodypop 