ON THE RECORD: JIM CARROLLon music
IT’S SIX YEARS to the day that the producer born James Yancey and known to us as J Dilla died, at the age of 32, from a rare blood disease. During his lifetime, he was one of the most prolific maestros in the beats business, but it’s the way his blueprints have gone on to inform the handiwork of countless other acts and producers that is Dilla’s real legacy.
From The xx to Flying Lotus to every wide-eyed maverick producer aiming to record the buckwild sounds they hear in their heads, Dilla’s soundscapes have cast a wide net. At times, when you’re checking out the work of the new school, it feels like Dilla never went away.
As with anyone who dies in their prime, you can speculate until the cows come home about what might have been. Dilla worked with renowned hip-hop and soul acts such as Erykah Badu, Common, The Roots, Q-Tip, the Pharcyde, Ghostface Killah and dozens more, but imagine what would have happened if he had been paired with a pop act.
Could Dilla's mix and match of electronic noises, eerie samples and warm, evocative instrumental snatches have worked in tandem with a pop voice and tune? If you listen back to his work on Q-Tip's Amplifiedalbum during the week, it shows clearly that he had the skills and smarts to make such a big splash.
The first stop for anyone who wants to know more about Dilla is probably Donuts, the album he recorded on a portable sound system on his death-bed, in hospital, when he knew time was running out. It shows a real master at work, sculpting eerie, leftfield swirls and stabs that are as deep in soul as they are wide in funk. Remember him this way.
NEW MUSIC
SEASFIRE
Bristol four-piece who've joined the dots between Spirit Of Eden-era Talk Talk, James Blake's folkstep and The Weeknd's introspective r'n'b. The debut single, Falling, is gorgeous, a dramatic slice of small hours pondering and post-club melancholy.
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FLATBUSH ZOMBIES
Thug Waffleis what has got folks in a flurry about Brooklyn trio Zombie Juice, Meechy Darko and Erick Arc Elliott. Let's hope there are a lot more stoned bangers to come from the Zombie Mansion. Perhaps they can persuade Zombies' fan Lana Del Rey to get on board for a collaboration? flatbush
[ zombies.bandcamp.comOpens in new window ]
SLOW PLACE LIKE HOME
It looks like being a fine year for Irish electronic music. Donegal's Keith Mannion's deep, moody, evocative and beautifully pitched, somnolent electronica is best captured on latest EP release Coastal Hubs for Chivalry(available for free via his Bandcamp page) Breakingtunes.com/slowplacelikehome
NOW PLAYING
SertOneQuesadillas ( White) Superb tribute EP to the late, great J Dilla from Norn Iron beat-maker SertOne, with each of the four tracks inspired by a Dilla production.
THEEsatisfactionQueens ( Sub Pop) Dastardly r'n'b and dark funk tinges from Shabazz Palaces' cohorts THEEsatisfaction's forthcoming album. Playing Dublin's Twisted Pepper on April 19.
Quakers Fitta Happer( Stones Throw) Brassy, booming cut from the forthcoming album helmed by Portishead's Geoff Barrows featuring 35 MCs (Guilty Simpson and MED feature here).
Leonard CohenOld Ideas ( Columbia) Lenny's back! More seasoned, wise, darkly funny musings on life, death, love and loss.
MoodymannI Can't Kick This Feeling When It Hits ( KDJ) Classic Detroit house cut from Kenny Dixon Jr still sounds as lush as ever.
