Hi, guys!

Since muxtape's on the fritz, we're trying to use another site here:

http://8tracks.com/Paliga...slipstream

but if that doesn't work, you can orgnote me for a different link...

The thing about8tracks.com is, the first time that you listen to
the mix the right order is maintained---but after that, the tracks seem to be on shuffle.


Paligap's Mixtape: "Slipstream"


Just 10 tracks?
Man, I honestly didn't know where to begin, or which direction to go in, initially. Classic Soul? Jazz? Funk? Acapella?

I finally settled on a collection of tracks that were ethereally funky--kind of. the title popped up because I had a vague theme of an aerial trip in my mind, a dreamy nightflight...I guess--I dunno. Anyway, I decided to just limit it to tracks from the past 10 years, just so I could stop thinking too hard about it.

What I didn't realize until afterward was how international the slant would be-- the 10 artists here range back and forth from the US and UK to New Zealand, Finland, Sweden, and feature collaborations from across the globe...this "flight" idea was starting to make sense after all.....




1. J Most-- "Strange Light"

I heard this NYC multi instrumentalist on Myspace --his brief tunes all seem to have this unique, dreamlike feel around them -- something about them definitely connected with me, and I thought it would be a suitable way to start off the mix....


2.Nathan Haines featuring Tama Waipera - "Hold On"

Haines is from New Zealand, and definitely among the nubreed of jazz musician. After playing bass in his father's Jazz bands, Nathan studied saxophone for years with ex-Miles Davis reedman George Coleman, and played with artists like Joe Lovano, Marlena Shaw, and Billy Cobham. However, it was a stint with Groove Collective that ultimately put Nathan on the path toward his own fusion of jazz and dance grooves. Since the mid nineties he has gigged with numerous artists from Jazz Funk,Rock, Electronica and Hip Hop. This track, "Hold On" is from his third and most recent album , "Right Now" (2008), and features Nathan's brother Joel on guitar, and Maori tribe soul/jazz singer Tama Waipara, another New Zealand native.....



3.Stuart Zender/AZUR - "Picture In My Heart"

Stuart Zender (UK) was the original bassist in Jamiriquai, up to their "Traveling Without Moving" album. (When he left, the band lost their funky edge, and opted for a more Disco-fied sound).
After leaving the group, Stewart formed the AZUR (As You Are) project, with UK soul singer Don -E, and guests like D'angelo sitting in on keys. The group signed a deal with Virgin ---unfortunately, the project was never released by the record company, and Stuart moved on. He's currently playing bass and touring with Mark Ronson....
BTW, Don-E on vocals for this track....



4.Peven Everett - "One Objective"


Peven Everett is a musician from Harvey, IL. whose music alternately spans R&B, House, Jazz, and Hip-Hop. He attended Berklee College of Music, but left to play trumpet with artists like Branford Marsalis and Betty Carter. Since then, the multi-instrumentalist has steadily been releasing discs of his own unique blend of multi-faceted dance grooves.



5.Ian O' Brien - "Where Does the Past End"

Ian O' Brien was a UK keyboardist and music scholar who got into the electronica/DJ field in the early 90's. You can hear the heavy influence of the 70's/80's Jazz/Funk Fusion forefathers on his work -- Herbie Hancock, Weather Report, Stevie Wonder, Chick Corea, Steps Ahead, etc.-- all the while, Ian manages to put his own spin on the genre, filtering it through the electronica and nujazz/hip hop culture of the new millenium....



6.Hefner - "Residue"

Another UK phenom, Hefner (aka Lee Jones, and not to be confused with the indie rock band, Hefner) started out in music by creating soundtracks for the movies of fellow film students--and that cinematic approach gives his Residue album it's expansive feel. Along the way, he manages to merge Soul, Funk, Reggae, World and Jazz undertones into his ethereal brew. This track features his collaborator Josee on vocals....



7.4Hero - "Play With The Changes"


Originally part of the drum n bass/Jungle scene, beat masters/musicians Marc Mac and Dego turned a new corner with their Jazz/Soul- inflected album, Two Pages. Their next album, Creating Patterns continued the shift to Jazz /soul fusion and featured input from groove masters past and present, including Terry Callier , Mark Murphy and Jill Scott. Their latest, "Play With The Changes" continues mining this path, this time getting help from artists like Jody Watley and 70's groovemeister Larry Mizell. I'm sure Charles Stepney would approve....




8. Lewis Taylor - "Cherry Blossom"


Despite outspoken support from legendary artists like Elton John, D'angelo, David Bowie, Chaka Khan, Paul Weller, Timbaland, and others, as well as critical support, multi-imnstrumentalist Lewis Taylor never found mass public acceptance--but a lot of that seems to be his own doing, and he apparently wishes to remain well under the radar....don't know if his "retirement" is long term or just a phase, but IMO, he's left behind one of the most impressive body of works of anyone in the last 30 years...



9.Quintessence - "30th Hour"

The Groove comes from Finland this time-- courtesy of Quintessence, a well-oiled six piece unit based in Helsinki--this track, from their album, "5am", features vocalist Emma Salokoski, trumpeter Verneri Pohjola, and guitarist Aki Haarla.....




10.Stephen Simmonds - "I Hope U Do"


Bringin' it home is Stephen Simmonds, a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Sweden. The son of a Jamaica-born musician, Stephen has put out several albums, but "Spirit Tales" remains his most resonant work. This track is from the U.S. version of that album....







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[Edited 10/7/08 7:46am]

Thank you for reminding me about Stephen Simmonds. A buddy let me hear his stuff, a few years ago.

Heyheyhey,

We're flying!

http://8tracks.com/Paliga...slipstream

I love the theme, easy - very recent - sweet - late at night - tasteful - yet electro aware - NU-SOUL!

I believe this mix is extremely tight, you stuck to your theme closely, which makes it very coherent.

I'll be back.

sp.
[Edited 8/30/08 10:18am]

Sander said:

Kool, thanks for the upload, Sander!!!



...


..

i can tell this will be a nice journey.

I get an error message: "Unable to play this mix. Please try again. Undefined."

I try a few tricks and then I may be orgnoting you for a link, Paligap.

Persistence pays off. It's playing now... and it sounds great so far!

paligap said:

I didn't know you were hip to Quintessence, cool cool
[Edited 8/26/08 10:22am]

FuNkeNsteiN said:

Yeah, I like their stuff!!




...

I will listen tonight

I remember your thread about the Stephen Simmonds song

can't wait for this

I am really digging this tape! I didn't know any of these song but I'm familiar with the genres that Paligap chose. This is a great selection of tunes for late at night in the summer, just before or after clubbing.

Very, very cool.....no need to get into each song seperately.....except one: stand out for me is Ian O'Brian's 'Where Does The Past End'. Listening to this tune, I can't help but wondering what a Thievery Corporation remix would sound like!

For me, this is the best mix so far! Thanks for giving me some new names!

Well done!

Strange Light - Awesome first track. Very funky, ethereal vibe. Perfectly sets the mood for your mix. The sexy backing vocals beautifully fill out the sparse instrumental. Perfect breaks. And I love the flirty stuff he's doing with the bass and guitar. I have to make an admission that I hope doesn't make people think the less of me: White funk falsetto singers always challenge me -- not because I think they can't do it, but because too often I get the impression they are trying to convince us of their soulfulness. With J. Most's first couple notes, I was immediately ready to hear Robin Thicke's whining ...but J. Most's voice turned out to sound far more assured; far more organic. I appreciated his genuineness.

Hold On - Very nice. Good vocal performance (there's something vaguely John Legend-ish about Haines' singing); beautiful, lazy down-tempo track. Great Sax and refreshing acoustic guitar work. I've not heard much Doyle Bramhall, but something about this track also reminds me of him.

Picture in My Heart - I'm not entirely feeling Zender's vocals. He's got control, but, like that Thicke guy, something about his voice sounds contrived -- like he's trying too hard to be soulful. The track, however, is captivating. His bass offers a perfect bottom, and the scattered drum pattern and layers upon layers of keys make for a really interesting environment. Sans Zender's vocals, this would be among my favorite 3 tracks on the mix.

One Objective - Doesn't do much for me. The mix is annoyingly hushed, his voice is irritating and the track is too repetitive, too synthesized, too... I dunno.

Where Does the Past End? - Your write-up of this track said it all. There's an 80s' fusion ( I know everyone hates that word) vibe all over it. Nice, familiar-feeling joint.

Residue - Smart respite from the male voices on your mix so far. This and "The 30th Hour" are my favorite tracks on the mix. I didn't think the song's intro was that strong, but it gave way to something wonderfully theatric. The strings, the sound effects, the really cool break that commences the song's coda, they were... "dreamy." And Josee's voice floated with them perfectly.

Play With the Changes - I'm not particularly a fan of bossa nova, but this is a decent enough track. It doesn't evoke much comment from me, but I don't not like it.

Cherry Blossom - Um... What to say here? I love this track. Taylor's singing packs a punch in its understatedness. He attempts only things well within his ability through the majority of the track, but that simplicity clearly belies his power because he goes nuts in the final few bars. (He's no Robin Thicke . ) He makes stunning use of backing vocals (are they all his own?), every instrument and sound effect adds something smoky and captivating, and that sampled and slowed (I'm reticent to call it "screwed") drum track almost dares you not to at least bob your head.

The 30th Hour - Like "Residue," this almost sounds like something out of a movie soundtrack. Salokoski's voice reminds me of Sabina Sciubba's from Brazilian Girls. (A good thing.) I love the spiraling airy feel, but the bouncy percussion work also makes the track perfectly danceable. This would have been an effective closing track.

I Hope You Do - I probably wouldn't have closed on this track as it mellows out a welcome high from "The 30th Hour." But Simmonds gorgeous voice does warrant a showcasing.

Favorites:
1st. The 30th Hour and Residue
2nd. Cherry Blossom
3rd - Hold On
[Edited 8/26/08 13:16pm]

Lammastide said:

Thanks for the review!!

,Just to clear it up, the vocals on "Picture in My Heart" are courtesy Don-E,, a black singer...I know that probably doesn't change the opinion on his voice, but....




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paligap said:

I probably am confusing them, but is this or isn't this the same Hefner that's featured on the Prince tribute disc 'Controversy'? The one with D'Angelo and Soulwax etc...

Gap-

What the hell are you doing working in a law office, my man?

You missed your calling. Your awareness of so many different types of music, your awesome collection and your attention to detail in writing the liner notes for your mix... awesome.

That was not only a superb compilation of tracks, it was perfectly sequenced.

I hope someday soon you can make your fortune from your love and knowledge of music. The world is waiting even though they don't know it yet.

Bravo!

paligap said:

It's good you pointed that out to me. Makes me grow up a bit. But, nah, I still don't like dude's voice.

On my third listen and am really enjoying it. Your description of a 'dreamy nightflight' is perfect and these are the exact kind of tunes I love to 'escape' to. You know I love Quintessence and 4Hero.

I still haven't bought any Lewis Taylor and have only heard a few tracks so I was excited for Cherry Blossom. It was a little sketchy in the first few minutes but then really picks up into a nice groove.

My immediate favorite is Hold On. Easily has that dreamlike sound. Strange Light One Objective, and [i[Picture in My Heart[/i].

Sander said:

Yup, that's him!!!!




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JackieBlue said:

wow, Kool! Glad you like it!

I picked "Cherry Blossom" because it was one of Lewis's rare tracks-- it was from an out-of-print UK benefit compilation called "Lullabies with A Difference, that featured songs from artists like Joan Armatrading , Brian May, etc...


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[Edited 8/26/08 16:18pm]

DakutiusMaximus said:

Hell, I dunno, they were hiring,


Actually I'm currently studying to be an archivist because I like doing research...but I'm still doing the music thing on the side--but yeah,I'd love to do more writing about music. I dunno, we'll see.....Thanks, DM!!



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paligap said:

I was about to say: You did try to outdo yourself, Stuart Zender from an album that isn't even released, then pick an non-album track by Lewis. You made me check all the albums only to find out it wasn't on any! I thought it was some kind of B-side...

abierman said:

Thanks so much!!! Btw, The Ian O' Brien track comes from his album, "Gigantic Days"(1999)....and a Thievery Corporation remix sounds right up his alley--he does remixes for others, and has other people remix his stuff....




...

Groovy & Dreamy set...


I became totally smitten with Hold On (must have played it at least 20 times in a row) to point of acquiring the Right Now album very shortly after listen number one.

Normally i'd pick Cherry Blossom (you know, the Lewis Taylor factor), but there's something about the arrangement and Tama Waipera's understated vocal performance that has me hooked.


First class set Gap-Man


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

theAudience said:

Thank you, Sir!!!!


I'm looking forward to your Set!!





...

This is the one I was waitin' on

Good picks man. I was kinda shocked that you didn't include one single Narada Michael Walden track...

bsk3601 said:

I was tempted!!!!

Next Time, folks gonna get Awakened,



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[Edited 8/27/08 17:09pm]

paligap said:

Is this song supposed to end abruptly like that?

Cinnie said:

Yeah... as far as I can gather, the 9 tunes being circulated are the ones they had pretty much finished, but that one wasn't quite complete---so yeah, it just kinda hits a wall,



....

And I haven't heard any of these songs before (even the 4Hero one).

Cinnie said:

Y'know that 4Hero tune features your boy Larry Mizell on vocals and additional keys....



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