Engineers in Your Ears ft. Mac Lethal ~ Till the Clouds Run Dry (Pterodactyl Remix)

“Find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” ~ Confucius, “I’m gonna live till I die.” ~ Frank Sinatra, “Get high as fuck, and tell everyone you love em” ~ Type, all great quotes from great people.   If you take the karma from these quotes, mix it down with progressive hip-hop, EQ a ton of acoustics, and track two rhythmic emcees, you would get the E.Y.E vibe.  E.Y.E brings a good times sound that can easily translate from a bouncing club to a beachside campfire, the Engineers are an undeniable party.  While checking out their new project Ain’t no Sunshine I proclaimed “that’s my favorite track” at least five times and was left with a get up and do some living feeling when it was over.  At times this album can borderline motivational speaking without the douchy tie, cliche quotes or any agenda besides go hard or go home.

Kylo Rich and Purposeflo make up this two-man music machine. Together they write, produce, and mix all aspects of their music, which makes it completely original to them alone.  As far as I can tell they only even sample themselves, who does that shit!  E.Y.E. does and it works.  To discuss a little bit about their Educational Background: Purpose studied musical composition during his Bachelor’s degree at ASU and also mastered recording and engineering techniques at the Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences. Graduating with a 4.0 and obtaining certifications in ProTools, Logic, and Reason, he brings pro level A- game production skills. Kylo compliments their business with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Marketing to compliment the foundation of their new business, Engineers in Your Ear Productions, LLC. The final product is Hip-Hop in its essence with driving percussion and effects. Many tracks are heavy on keyboards and guitar (acoustic and electric) which gives it a genre-crossing appeal that both true heads and people who otherwise wouldn’t listen to hip-hop can appreciate.

With tracks modeled after classic artists like The Doors and Bill Withers their influences run deep. Other musicians are only part of what influences the Engineers they both seem to operate on a zen type level of consciousness.   ”To me, music is a reflection of all there is. If reality is really different wave lengths of Light and what not, music is the brain’s way of understanding unity through waves. Or something like that” ~ Purposeflo.  Purpose is a Taoist and Kylo is an avid student of nature.   What really seems to drive the engine the most is a circle of energy between the group and their fans.   As they told us“ We LOVE our fans! I think we connect with them because we respect them. I don’t think our fans owe us anything, but we owe the fans everything”.

 Last summer’s Ain’t No Sunshine Tour kicked off in the groups original stomping grounds, Arizona. E.Y.E. toured with Bodi, Doctype, and Smash Moody (currently Errol Hem) and they traveled up the West Coast rocking shows in AZ, CA, WA, OR, MT, and CO.  They brought their message to the people and  planted E.Y.E. flags all along the way.  They have also mailed out stacks of free physical copies of their latest album to friends of their facebook page and frequently do contests for free albums and merch.  In turn fans send back pics of themselves with their free goods for an online photo album called E.Y.E and YOU.  They send out positive vibes and it resonates with fans and artists alike,  all of the art in this article are fan submissions  wanting to give back to the symbiotic vibe.

Besides their growing fan base, the Engineers roll with a pretty deep clique of underground artist.  Collaborations with Mac Lethal, Grieves,Type and Eclipse all grace the new album, along with their soulful go to singer Mauricio Whitford.  On the live tip frequent tour mates Bodi and Kristoff Krane are always down to throw down a high energy live set. With energi to spare and a touch of that old enginuity, the Engineers are building a dream on solid ground.  Check them out rockin with Greives on Honest Microphone.  PEACE ~ SIKBOY

Download the new E.Y.E album Ain’t no Sunshine here

http://engineersinyourear.bandcamp.com/album/aint-no-sunshine

you can also catch them live in Mesa AZ, March 3rd

http://www.facebook.com/events/206533462770840/

Anatta by Bodi & Abstrakt from the “Forever is Now” Ep

By any ones standards Bodi (formerly Alexipharmic) has walked some rough roads as of late.  Amidst the challenges he has faced, there have also been some very stand out amazing moments.  Basically the last year for him has had many taunting ups and downs like a game of whack-a-mole.  In 2012 he has emerged like a light through the darkness.  He is humbled, stronger and very focused.

During last year or so Bodi lost a few people including his former tour mate Mike “Eyedea” Larson, his dog, two other friends and both Grandparents.  He also did over 70 shows, put out some bangin music and volunteered much of his summer at the Ebenezer  and Faraja Orphanages in Kenya.  Another notable accomplishment was partnering his record/merch label Elephant Memories with global relief efforts.  Fifty percent of  these proceeds go directly to the global charity organization Mercy Corps and 100% of his brand new project’s proceeds go to the Ebenezer and Faraja Orphanages.

All of these events recently culminated in the release of the 8 track Ep Forever Is Now.  Even though personal tragedy was definitely an influence in this project this is no bum out, pity party album, it’s quite the opposite.  It has the feel of a celebration of life instead of the obvious sadness of when it ends.  The contributors to the project come together seamlessly.  Bodi flows prolifically over bouncy, spacey tracks produced masterfully by the U.K.’s own Abstrakt.  With a few subtle samples from Icelandic rock group Sigur Ros,  Abstrakt blends the two styles into an ethereal sound.  Guardian angels and life lessons provide the inspiration and the children of Kenya grace the cover.

This is an amazing body of work coupled with an amazing cause.  This is a soundtrack of life and food for the soul.  It pumps sonic satisfaction through your speakers and bleeds audible affection to your senses.  To get a little insight on who Bodi is, I had to include this track  Simple Man from a previous project.

Get Forever Is Now below and help Bodi and Mercy Corps spread the love at the same time.  This is dope on multiple levels people, hit it up ~Sikboy

http://bodi.bandcamp.com/album/forever-is-now

http://www.thisisbodi.com/

03 Bloom of the Android ~ Loose Screws ~ Prologue

Farfetched is an independent music and art imprint based out of St.Louis, MO. We specialize in creating thought-provoking, honest, and innovative content for all

Featuring Sonic Engineers Sanguinite, Standing Sleep, Scripts and Screws, Midnight Giant, Blank Generation, Wino Willie, Micheal Franco, Scrub, EkleKtrip, Air Haze, Jai & Ebony, Crayon Stars, Whiteout , Kepra, Thelonious Kyrtonite, Symphonique, Port Side and Helen Marie.

Download the debut project PROLOGUE from the new label     ***FARFETCHED***

http://farfetched.bandcamp.com/album/prologue

http://wearefarfetched.net/

*Full length feature with Farfetched producer Loose Screws in Locash* *Magazine print Issue #3 coming soon……….. stay tuned ~ Sikboy*

Team Flight Case stand up! Danny D.J.P Phillips of Springfield Missouri is the 2012 Master of the Mix Champion, and well deserved.  Danny won the internet voting every week and the judges respect.  It think it all started when Kid Capri asked him if he was going to pull a computer out of his flight case in the first episode, to which P replied “Nah, it’s all records man”.  By the end of that set all the judges were cheering and yelling Thank you! Amber Rose had his back the whole show and that was it man, 8 shows later P for the win!  Danny had a lot of respect for his competitors and gave runner ups DJ Msquared and DJ Yonny 10 grand each.  I caught Danny after some well needed rest and before he flies to New York tomorrow here’s what he told me.

Sikboy:  How was your Master of the Mix experience?

P:  “It was wild and crazy, it was very interesting and long and drawn out but very successful at the same time, so there’s no complaints whatsoever”.

How did you pick your final set?

“I just kinda went with it man, we were actually kinda handcuffed song wise through the whole thing till the end. There were a few things that I picked out but, with me using vinyl I didn’t really have a  chance to use a lot of the things I think about, that I could really go left field with.  I only used what I was allowed to use for the most part.  I just manipulated it the way I do and did the best job I could do and I got through luckily”.

You earned it man, me and my friends voted for you a bunch of times.

“Yeah man and that’s what really brought it down, I appreciate and give a shout out to everyone for voting because the voting is what really made me win in the end.  Because what Master of the Mix wanted to see I think was not just how skilled everyone was, they wanted to see how people out there felt about what dj they thought should have won.  There were over 50 thousand votes total and over 30 thousand came in for me,  which is breathtaking.   I didn’t realize I had that many fans out there that really care you know,  family, friends just everybody.  I knew there were out there but it never really surfaced like to where it slapped me in the face in a good way, like wow.  A lot of people really had my back and it’s much appreciated”.

Team Flightcase really came together, that was a cool concept.

“Yes it did, it really did, it suuuure did” (laughs)

We had a great time watching the show and everyone is really happy for you.

“Thank you, my love goes out to everybody that voted.  I think at the end Micheal Mcpherson (M2) had a really good set he’s a really good dj, Yonnie is a good dj too.  I think what it boiled down to at the end for the judges is they wanted to see who had really stood up for the culture for so many years and payed their dues and I payed my dues longer, it just was my time I think and with the voting I think that really showed America, Yo this dude is like, you know the Master of the Mix (laughing) so yeah it feels good”.

Did you get a big Amber Rose Hug?

“Oh yeah, Amber Rose is a sweetheart man she actually came up and gave me some really good advice and I respect her even more for that and she’s a really nice person”.

What was her advice?

“Kinda the do’s and don’ts about the money I won, and I appreciated that she was looking out for me”.

How does booking look this summer?

“I can’t even answer that right now my life’s crazy I got a new manager now Smirnoff has me for a year I got a full on contract with them so it might be kinda hard to jump around but we’ll see”. 

Check out what DJP had to say moments after his win was announced.

Congrats D.J.P. and Turntablism lives!!! as always you can keep up with D.J.P here www.djpmix.com

Big Boi ft. T.I. ~ Tangerine

As one half of Outkast, Big Boi (aka Sir Lucious Left Foot, Daddy Fat Sax, General Patton, etc.) has reveled in a career spanning over two decades in one of the most successful hip-hop groups of all time. Six Grammy Awards, five studio albums and a greatest hits release later, Big Boi and Andre 3000 are both doing their own thing. After a three year delay, Big Boi’s highly-anticipated debut solo record, Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty, finally arrived in stores this July and hit number 3 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart immediately. His follow up, to be titled Daddy Fat Sax, is named after a generous dude at a New Jersey White Castle who used to hook the duo up with extra sliders in every 10-sack they bought. His unexpected passing prompted Big Boi to pay homage.

 As a member of Outkast, you’ve experienced more success than most emcees out there. What do you think accounts for your longevity?

 Big Boi: It comes to me every day.  The beats, the rhymes and ideas – they’re always there.  And I’m thankful for that. Also, believing in what you put out there and standing behind it and just making good music no matter what other people think.

 There is so much debate about rap vs. hip-hop, old school vs. new school and mainstream vs. underground. What is your definition of true hip-hop?

I don’t think it’s that cut and dry of a definition. I mean, I don’t think my style is all hip-hop. I mix in funk and rock and all different styles to create a unique sound.

When Speakerboxxx/The Love Below was released in 2003, was that kind of a definitive statement about the enormous differences between you and Andre 3000?

It shows our different styles and how diverse Outkast can be. You can’t really mold us just into one genre or style, but we know how to compliment each other.

Will Outkast ever reconvene on another album? Tour?

Well, Dre will be coming out with his solo album and then we have some Outkast in the works, but it’s a super top secret project we’re working on so you will have to wait to find out.

Why were there so many delays with Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty?

My old label wasn’t down with me making a solo album so they wouldn’t put it out. This album has been done for the past three years, but they wouldn’t release it so we went over to Def Jam to put it out.

Out of the four elements of hip-hop, which one do you feel has been the most exploited over the years- graffiti, break dancing, emceeing or DJ-ing?

DJ-ing. Everyone seems to be doing it these days. There are so many good cats out there that are talented at it though but just too many.

What’s your songwriting process like?

I’ll be out and about and it hits me or it depends on my mood and what I am jiving on. That reflects in my music. Sometimes it’s a collaborative thing.  I just get beats and rhymes in my head and put them down right away.

What have you been listening to lately and who are some of your biggest inspirations?

I can’t do without my George Clinton.  I do call upon his expertise for a reason.  I am totally digging on  Cee Lo Green bringin’ it the way he does. It’s hot, man! I’m still feelin’ some of Phantogram’s tracks too.

Is it difficult to balance family life with everything you have going on career-wise?

My family is super supportive and we spend a lot of time together and love to joke around. My wife is especially amazing and has had my back the whole way.

 Atliens and Aquemini are two of my favorite records. What kind of space were you in when you wrote such narrative lyrics as opposed to writing about the usual bitches, bling and Bentlys?

I have a bunch of different personas that reflect my mood. I incorporate these characters into my music and sound. Like my Daddy Fat Sax persona is a bit more funky. On Atliens, I am little bit in touch with my Southern roots and on Aquemini, my character is my zodiac sign, Aquarius.

~Interview by Kyle Eustice~

Reo Iammusic ~ Pursuit of Happiness

Reo Iammusic dropped a ton of videos on us recently from his youtube channel realresistencetv.  There are definitely a few nicely polished gems in there.  Revenge of the Nerds and Pursuit of Happiness are standouts for me.  There is always something awesome when someone melodically sings “fuck you, fuck you, fuck you.”  Both tracks are from his ambitious upcoming project The Collage. 

About Reo Iammusic in his own words.  “My style is diverse, I have multiple styles to meet whatever your musical preference is.  Im a regular dude that came up rough and decided to take the high route rather than the down hill slope that most of my peers take.  I love music, Fly ass cars, fre$h ass clothes and evolution…my team (T.R.E x WinnerCircle) is putting on for SaintLouis in a huge way!”  

Right, speak on it homie.  A lot of people say that though, you gotta show and prove right? This is the video that really grabbed my attention.

Any Questions?  Check out his new new shit here ~ PEACE, Sikboy

http://www.youtube.com/user/therealresistancetv?feature=watch

Alleyes Manifest – Mission Statement

932 Crew is sicker than your average.   Always coming slicker and more precise than the myriad of groups battling  for music fans attention these days.  Made up mostly of DJs and producers the production value on their projects is locked in professionalism and loaded with style.  This multifaceted crew can often methodically spark your brain with an approach that you weren’t aware that you liked, but now you know.  Some of the current 932 soldiers are Splitface, Alleyes Manifest, DJ Self Help, Hearz Kra-Z, Jonathan Jinx, DJ Sonryze and the Solkon Familia among others.

  This uncommon crew had a very common and humble beginning I asked Co-founder Splitface how it started to which he replied ”932 was founded in 2002 when we hosted a weekly emcee battle in a basement in Belleville, IL. Eventually people were driving from St. Louis to come and hang out and let loose on the turntables and microphone every week. I think it worked because we accepted any and all, let them party and kept it free. That’s how all of the original members met including where I met Michael Bridgmon a.k.a. Alleyes Manifest.”

932 has since moved out of the basement, some of them out of the midwest and they have definitely moved into other artistic areas.   A strong visual presence has emerged, from live lighting presentation to video directing and graphic design.   They have also always maintained a strong graffiti art presence to keep the word literally on the streets.  When I asked Splitface “What’s up with today’s 932?”

 He replied “I was talking to a friend and frequent music collaborator from St.Louis, Jus Time last winter when the idea came up to make the crew into a record label.  It felt like the natural next step for 932. I brought the idea to Michael (Alleyes) and he was immediately onboard.   He became the label’s aesthetic administrator.   In 2011, Crew 932 began functioning as a small record label.  Since 932′s roots are in hip hop, electronic, punk, hardcore and so forth that helps keep us diverse and open-minded. The vision is to focus on releasing great music from a variety of genre’s while putting an emphasis on mirroring regional spirit and becoming a resource for fans and artists.”

The latest release from the Crew is the joint effort Bloody Blvd. From Alleyes Manifest and Splitface.   The duo flow through the 8 track EP like the ocean, with even melodic flows and also exciting violent crashes.  Moving through verses and breaks symbiotically, it’s quite obvious  these tracks and rhymes were constructed for each other and fit like a well-tailored suit.  Split’s sonic mastery resonates from a million directions as Alleyes explores both the raucous and righteous sides of a revolutionary mind as he raps and sings his way through this project.  When I asked Alleyes how he balances those sides of  his persona he said “I see what goes on around tv, people, and capture that emotion. I love God so that will always shine in” righteous indeed.  Alleyes also handled the slick contemporary graphic design for the hard copies that comes with a couple stickers inside (at least mine did).

Here’s the break down, Track 1 Mission Statement is just that, split brings it back to that old boom bap with a rebel rock flair and Alleyes rocks it with aggression and solid lyrics standing strong with the confidence of a Chuck D or Nato Caliph.  No.2 Lost and All Alone is a modern-day hip-hop blues song haunting piano lines and harmonica (I think) with Alleyes crooning about losing his soul he seems to channel Howling Wolf himself.  I envision this record crackling through a phonograph while Alleyes drinks whisky on a rickety bayou porch, debating with Beelzebub over his mortal soul.

No.3 Wicked and Witty is a bragadocious track about St. Louis.  Alleyes and special Guest Mathias of Indyground both come off, you know the steez on this one, can’t fuck with STL.  No.4  Reading Life Split is sounding like late era Gravedigga’s on this one, Alleyes keeps the art of story telling alive taking you through the strife of existence.  No. 5 Life on the Road this ones for the artists as well as the fans if you have ever been on any kind of tour, this ones for you.  The freedoms and the restrictions of road life are told from a first hand view, with verses from STL alumni J-Toth and Jus Time.  This should be on every touring crews road trip mixtape. 

No.6 is called Bloody Blvd and is also on the EP, not my  favorite one, judge for yourself.  No.0 7 Fly Away  is straight up beautiful, whether you’re a thug or not or a Thugernaut (yes I make up words) if you don’t think this is a cool track you should broaden your horizons.  No. 8 time for some classic Splitface shine this instrumental makes me want to cop a bag of shrooms and drive through the desert in a stolen Camaro Firebird, check out the promo video by Jonathan Jinx. 

Bloody Blvd: Chased By The Wind (promo) from 932 on Vimeo.

Cop this twice, limited edition hard copies and itunes version are available from the 932 site, check out the vast array of 932 ruckus while your there, peace out ~ Sikboy

http://crew932.com/thelatest/2011/11/1/new932-alleyes-manifest-bloody-blvd-n32-001-released-today.html

I always considered my self blessed that I grew up in the golden era of Hip-Hop and Alternative rock.  The 80′s and early 90′s produced legendary acts like RUN-DMC and Public Enemy to Jane’s Addiction and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.  Every generation will have their greats but I will never hesitate to say that we had it Gooooood.  One of my favorite parts of growing up with a brand new genre and culture such as hip-hop, is watching it grow and expand its horizons.  After catching the top videos of the week, shaking my head in dismay, I received an e-mail like a refreshing breeze from the band A Cool Stick complete with their new EP A Bird’s Eye View.

This Baltimore quartet have definitely taken Hip-Hop down their own path.  Vocalist Luke O’Brien puts down life affirming, party raps with a relaxed melodic flow.  Recently discovering he could also sing added a new level to the EP, which gives it a new sound from previous projects.  The band is composed of well-rounded artists.  Princeton music student Matt Wong is on Bass, Guitarist Sean Mckeon  still takes weekly lessons even though it’s obvious he doesn’t NEED to and Drummer Brian Aranda started the spark and vision with Luke back in 09, and have they’ve been building ever since.

The power of live instrumentation is on full display on tracks 1 and 2 Water and You Are.  Track 4 Smile has a Jamiraquai-esq live disco vibe, sure to get the ladies dancin.  Besides the new EP the band has been busy showing their live skills with a recent New York album debut, performances with Sam Adams and Citizen Cope also a hot opening spot for Beck and Stalley in their Baltimore and D.C. shows.  I recently got the chance to ask them a couple of ?’s about all the new Cool Stick buzz, here’s what they told me.

The Hippie Girl video looked fun, are there plans for more video’s?

 

“The Hippie Girl video was a blast, and there’s definitely plans for more videos.  We want to make a video for every song on this EP, and those are in the works”. 

 

 

 

What do you guys have going on right now, how can people find it?

 

“Right now we’re working on booking again.  We’ve got to where we are by playing a ton of shows, and getting our name out there.  We’ve been performing less frequently, since we’ve been working on this EP, but we’re filling up our schedule as we speak.  So aside from looking for us in your hometown, be on the look out for some videos, and you can always find the newest-latest on acoolstick.com“

 

I’m looking forward to watching A Cool Stick take flight.  In the meantime I can always twist one and vibe to A Birds Eye View when I need an escape.  I highly recommend everyone do the same, the hustle and bustle of the world isn’t going anywhere, here’s the link.

 

 http://acoolstick.bandcamp.com/

 

 Take it easy friends ~ Sikboy 

 

G-Easy is one of my favorite new artists period.  His self producing, self promoting, indie grind is a testament to artists everywhere.   Producing his own tracks he wraps his unique style into a finely tuned vision that radiates good vibrations like the Beach Boys in 2012 swag mode.  It’s been a minute since I’ve seen someone successfully create something uniqely fresh.  In G’s production style he can be found dusting off decades old records chopping them up and converting them into hip-hop form.  The romanticism and swing of 50′s-60′s Doo-wop and classic rock are captured and blended into a modern sound, without losing their original appeal. 

G-Easy hails from Oakland California which comes through in his music’s breezy demeanor. Currently chillin in New Orleans (but showing up everywhere)  I’m sure the Big Easy adds to the heavy party vibe his projects are laced with.  He has been steadily building a fan based following through midwest club dates and has also graced arena shows with the likes of Lil Wayne and Drake.  G is currently working on finishing school and on a nationwide tour with Mod Sun and Shwayze to self-promote his new album Endless Summer .  Check out the slick first video Runaround Sue.

Fan reports from the road say he’s killin every show.  You can check the tour dates on the official website here.

http://www.g-eazy.com/

Download Endless Summer and the whole G-Easy catalog here and name your own price! how cool is that.  ~ stay classy everyone, Sikboy.

http://music.g-eazy.com/

       I had never heard of Pancho Rucker untill I met him this summer, now every time I hear one of his tracks I say to myself “Damn! how did you miss this guy?”  Pancho is an intelligent smart ass, which is the most dangerous kind.  He likes to cuss, drink, and rap, and he is masterful at all three.  P Rucks is back this fall and about to drop, in my opinion, his most polished project to date the affectionately named Kurt Cobain Music.  I was privileged enough to get an advanced copy from Shogun Music Group.  The album left me with a feeling similar to when Courtney Love showed me and 10,000 other people her ripped pink panties (while in them) at Lollapalooza 95,  kinda shocked, a little scared, but definitely into it. 

      While a lot of artists in Hip-Hop spend too much time trying to act like they don’t have feelings.  Pancho was busy pouring his into his music with no holds barred and nothing is off the table.  Laughter, anger, love and pain (or lack thereof) are all put in a blender and set to liquify.  The highs or so high that you might need oxygen and lows are beautifully low, I’ve never had this much fun being depressed, this project is impeccably balanced.  If you’re not bipolar now, you could be after you get this album, but hey join the club, it’s fun to laugh and cry at the same time. 

      Lyricly Pancho laces fearless poetic flows with melodic tracks like they were made for each other, because they were.  Producing 10 of the tracks himself he doesn’t skimp on the bass kicks or the rock,  The Red Hot Chili Peppers and System of a Down are nicely sampled and have never quite bumped like this.  14kt and Ola Beatz also contribute musically as Pancho takes us through many of curses and rewards of life including society, relationships, government and religion.  The official release date of this project is Nov. 1st but you can preorder it and check out a couple of tracks on the link below.  This album makes me happy like I found my friends and their in my head, I give it 5 suicide notes written to imaginary childhood friends.  ~ Sikboy

http://panchorucker.bandcamp.com/album/kurt-cobain-music 

Album release party link

http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=203888936348053