The Reeflex – Sparktones: The Catcher in the Rye

One day a month, I am willing to shamelessly promote myself. Today is that day. My new beat tape is available for free download. Download link is at the bottom.

The tape is called Sparktones – The Catcher in the Rye, and it’s the last of the Sparktones series. I’m trying to release about a tape a month, and this is February’s edition. Next month’s project is already in the works. I’m hoping to use more soul samples in it. Try to make it sound like more conventional hip hop. But for now, you can download what’s already on the bandcamp. There’re four beat tapes up there. If you’re an MC interested in using a beat, let me know. I can adjust them to go however you want (take stuff out, add stuff, etc), and I don’t charge.

Download it.

Ivan Ice & Emay – Sounds Like

Another free download today. It’s from a couple hip-hoppers called Ivan Ice & Emay. The EP is called Sounds Like. Download link is at the bottom.

Emay submitted the album to me to listen to, and I liked what I heard. The production is crisp and catchy, the delivery is smooth and intelligent, and overall, it’s a very solid EP. There are also two instrumentals included in the EP, which is awesome. I love instrumentals.

“Used to Sound Like, Now” has my favorite beat of all the tracks, and I think “Get Ready!” has my favorite content lyrically. Like I said, it’s a really solid album, totally worth the download. Do yourself a favor, and get it.

Download it.

Mike Schpitz – Love Potion Number 9th

Last week or so, I found out about this dude from the midwest. His name’s Mike Schpitz, and he also goes by LoveJones. He’s a sick artist, and he’s definitely worth listening to. Free mixtape download at the bottom.

I first heard a few tracks from Mike Schpitz on the Flawless Hustle mixtape Stay Flawless. I thought he was pretty good, but I wasn’t completely sold. About a month later, I found out that he released a mixtape where he went over 9th Wonder beats, so I had to have that. It’s called Love Potion Number 9th, and it’s been one of my most played mixtapes over the past month.

“Hatin’ Again” is one of my favorite tracks off the mixtape. Stik Figa and Adullessence are featured on it, and they add a whole new dimension to the track. The beat is incredible, and that goes for every beat on this mixtape. As a matter of fact, that goes for pretty much 9th’s whole catalog.

Either way, it’s definitely worth downloading, especially since it’s free. And while you’re at it, follow Mike Schpitz on Twitter. Kudos to Refined Hype for the download.

Download it.

Shay-J – Lost in a Vast Abyss of Hip-Hop

Today I’m talking about Gainesville, Florida, hip hop artist Shay-J. He’s got a lot of an Atlanta-type sound in his delivery. Shay-J released his album Lost in a Vast Abyss of Hip-Hop in like December, and I’m just now getting around to talking about it. Apologies to Shay for that. But, better late than never, right? Right.

So, a bit of background first. If you don’t know Shay-J, he’s a pretty phenomenal artist. When Common and Kid Cudi played at UF, Shay got to open for them, so if you went to that, you’ve heard him. Lost in a Vast Abyss of Hip-Hop promos were given out there, and practically everyone toward the front of the crowd got a promo. Over the past few weeks, Shay has been handing out copies of the album all around campus recently, so if you’re lucky enough to see him, ask for a copy. He’s been getting so much buzz in Gainesville, the Alligator even did a story on him.

As a matter of fact, the first night I met Shay-J, he ended up doing a recording of “Can I Kick It? (2009)”, which is one of the songs he performed when he opened the Common & Cudi show. As you can probably tell, Shay goes over the the “Can I Kick It?” instrumental, and needless to say, he owns it.

“Look of Love” is a great track off the album. The beat is laid back, yet the subject matter and the delivery is pretty serious, leading to an interesting contrast. That’s really what I love about Shay’s tracks: the lyrical content. Every song means something. There aren’t any tracks that are just throwaway filler tracks, which is impressive, especially for a 19 track album.

“Late Night Special (Apple Drank)” is probably my favorite track on the album. The way he talks to his producer at the beginning is a great addition, and I’m really glad they didn’t cut that out. It gives it a nice, little, ragged-edge type feel. The guitar bit about three minutes into the song is fucking dreamy, as is the horn solo that starts a little after four minutes in. And once again, the lyrics are creative, yet not overly complex, allowing the listener to just zone.

You can listen to the whole album online. Hit up Shay’s bandcamp page. There you can listen to every track for free, and if you feel like buying it, you can purchase it for five bucks or more. It’s a name your price sort of thing, except the minimum to pay is five dollars. But for 19 tracks, it’s more than worth it.

Surfer Blood

Finally, finally, everydaymusic is back. We’ve been gone for three weeks, and I’d like to apologize for that. The good news is I’ve been able to discover bunches of music over that time. I’ve had like 5 or 6 different artists send in submissions through e-mail, which is awesome. Remember, if you’re an artist, feel free to submit your music. Today, it’s a catchy pop-rock group from West Palm Beach. They’re called Surfer Blood, and they sound like Vampire Weekend went to the beach.

One of my roommates introduced me to Surfer Blood a few days ago. He liked them so much he went and downloaded their album off of Amazon. That’s true dedication. He then gave it to me to listen to, and I must say, I was very impressed.

Surfer Blood is an indie-pop act out of West Palm Beach, Florida. Their first album is called Astro Coast. They have nice, fat bass guitar sounds in some of their songs. That reminds me a lot of that old surf rock stuff, which works nicely with their name. Surfer Blood’s melodies, riffs, chord progressions, etc. are always really interesting, not to mention catchy, slightly reminding me of The Slip. Vocally, I can totally detect a Shins-y feel.

“Floating Vibes”, “Anchorage”, and “Take it Easy” are a few good songs off of what was surprisingly a really solid album. “Take it Easy” is the one that sounds like Vampire Weekend went to the beach. Honestly, I didn’t expect much out of this group initially, but after listening to this album, I’m expecting a lot of hype over the coming months. They definitely deserve it.

Either way, download Astro Coast. It’s a brilliant album, that deserves all the praise it gets. You can find it on Amazon, if you want to buy it (the mp3 version of the album is only 5 bucks!), but you can also listen to the album in full, for free, on Last.fm. There’re four tracks up on the MySpace if you’re still in 2003. Whatever you do, hurry up and hop on the Surfer Blood bandwagon. It’s about to take off.

everydaymusic, Where Did You Go?

As Chris mentioned in his last post, it’s a bad idea naming something “everyday” anything. I’ve been hella busy over the past few weeks, so we’re most likely going to be back either this coming Monday (22 Feb) or the next Monday (1 Mar). Either way, get ready, cause we’ve got some good stuff lined up, including an exclusive interview with Kil Ripkin. Check back. Thanks.

MindState – Black Lungs EP

Happy Friday. It’s been a long week. Today we’re talking about a group called MindState. There’s a free download of their latest release, The Black Lungs EP.

MindState is a hip hop duo out of Salt Lake City. They released this EP back in November of 2009. It has solid beats, and, although I’m not particularly a fan of the flow, you very well might be. It’s too intense for me. I usually listen to nice, relaxed music. Visit MindState on MySpace.

“The Most Ridiculous” is one of my favorites on the album. The beat is killer, and the lyrics have content, not like most music now. Once again, I’m not a huge fan of the delivery or the style. “Dratcave” has probably my favorite beat on the album. All in all, it’s an album worth looking into.

Download it.

Strange Fruit Project – M.A.S.K.

Today’s group is one I’ve been wanting to get into for a couple years. I’ve heard their name here and there, but it was only a couple weeks ago I got my first mixtape from them. It’s Strange Fruit Project. The mixtape is M.A.S.K., and you can get it for free at the bottom of this post.

M.A.S.K. stands for Making Art Sound Kool. The mixtape dropped in November of last year, and it’s their first project since their 2006 album The Healing. I’m probably going to invest in the album, judging from how dope this mixtape is. Check their site and their MySpace for more info.

“Sunrays” is easily my favorite track off the mixtape. That track itself makes the whole mixtape worth downloading. It has an interesting chord progression, and the instrumentation is super contagious. I also love the hook. “Day by Day” is another dope track. The entire mixtape is really solid. Get it. Shout to 2dopeboyz for allowing me to find this.

Download it.

The Expendables

Today, Chris returns, and in honor of his birthday, gives us a column. Ever since he started real life, they’ve been few and far between. It’s the Expendables. Hmmm…

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So, it’s been awhile. This semester I started school at UNF; I’m playing lacrosse and pledging Sigma Chi, so I literally do not have a free weeknight to ramble sarcastically about hipsters and the melodies that get them off. Last night, Alexei called and asked me to do an article, so I said yes, and then I forgot. It’s the next afternoon. Man, why would you name a blog everyday anything? Titles should not be so obligatory.

I’ve spent the past month listening to Pitchfork’s Top 10 of 2009, which I had planned on giving a full report on, but I’ll save us both the trouble – Phoenix’s Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is by far the best of the favorite ten, and Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavillion is awesome to fall asleep too, but still mad overrated. As far as I can tell, Pitchfork isn’t the least bit concerned with what sounds good, they simply care about what sounds different. Fever Ray is worth checking out if you trip a lot, Girls if scratchy vocals and cacophonous tunes are your thing, and by all mean listen to Raekwon if you have low standards for hip-hop (most people do).

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Anyway, since the Top 10 article is now just an intro paragraph, I’m gonna talk about a band I’ve barely listened to but thus far I enjoy. Their name is The Expendables, and they’re out of Santa Cruz, California. They’ve been together for 13 years, have four albums no one (sans stoners and the west coast) has heard of, and are great chill music. One of their songs, “Sacrifice”, is a playable song in Guitar Hero World Tour, so if you like pretending to be a rock star, hit that up. In 2003 they briefly had their own radio show; I don’t know anything about it, it probably wasn’t too successful. They’re currently at work on their 5th studio album, which is likely code for “smoking tons of weed and jamming out”.

But what do they sound like? Well, The Expendables span a few subgenres, combining elements of ska, reggae, and surf-rock, which I didn’t even know was a type of music. They’ve toured extensively with bands such as 311, Pepper, Kottonmouth Kings, and Less Than Jake; they’re also signed to Slightly Stoopid’s record label, Stoopid Records. Top listeners on Last.fm include lovestosmoke and General420. Get it yet?

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Sorry for the lack of insight, dedication, yadda, blah, etc. and so forth. Not going to proofread either. I’ve staked out an awesome spot in the Thomas G. Carpenter library and am getting my study on hardcore. Go listen to music.

Sidewalk Chalk

Happy Groundhog Day. You should become a fan of everydaymusic on Facebook. You’ll be notified of all the updates, which generally include free downloads. It’s worth it. Either way, today’s focus is on a bunch of Chicagoans called Sidewalk Chalk.

Sidewalk Chalk is a jazz/hip-hop group I found through the message boards at Okayplayer. After listening to them, my first thought was, this group has to play in Montreal at the Jazz Fest. They offer lots of free live shows, and I really hope Sidewalk Chalk puts in a submission. I feel like they’d bring a whole new dimension to the Jazz Fest.

“Movement of the Mind” is probably their most popular song. You can download it for free on their Bandcamp page, and you can view the video they made for it. Their MySpace page has a lot of minute long samples of them playing live. It gives you a good feel for their live sound, which is impressive. Sidewalk Chalk also has a Facebook fan page, so you should be a fan. And while you’re at it, become a fan of everydaymusic.

I’m really looking forward to more music from Sidewalk Chalk. They seem like a legitimate jazz-hop talent, playing a game that has few players in this day and age.