Joris Voorn-Ringo

Electronic music continues to grow and artists and promoters seem to be locked into the sisyphian task of summiting higher and higher peaks-bigger shows, festivals, and sounds. Within this spectacular growth, however, seems to be an almost disdain for the understated. Cruise through the Beatport Top 100 list and there's nary room for any emotion other than raging. Commercial electronic music, the type that sustains gigantic music festivals, seems to be going through its teenage years and has grown to love flashy sounds and the same bass drop. I was surprised then to hear "Ringo" by Joris Voorn, a Dutchman in a long and illustrious lineage of them, on the same Top 100 list. "Ringo" flirts with being the perfect soundtrack to your life song, a jamandahalf that combines a mellowness with a repetitive precision to it that helps frame your thoughts. It keeps your mind busy while never getting in the way and is best heard on repeat. "Ringo" harks back to the some of the more subdued Deadmau5 and Aphex Twins tracks and is a welcome breather from the last gasps of summer's largest anthems. Check it out below!

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Download Joris Voorn Ringo (Original Mix)

Benjamin Clementine-Cornerstone

Cornerstone, the debut single of Benjamin Clementine, is raw. It's pure emotion. Cornerstone is one of my favorite songs of 2013 for this very reason. In an era of factory produced artists, bands, and singles, today's jamandahalf shines because it comes straight from the heart. Born from the life and story of a young Ghanaian immigrant who was discovered singing in the metro of Paris, Cornerstone is a bold statement and a fearless yet poignant"hello world". Showing that there is incredible musical talent all around us, Benjamin reminds us that sometimes true greatness is often easy to miss in a rush to your next destination. Luckily Benjamin was discovered and his face and the tears in his eyes at the end of his live performance in the video below seem to be a sweet, sweet combination of relief and joy. I feel like we're going to be hearing a lot of Benjamin in the next year. Keep an ear out and don't forget to throw a eurodollar or two in the bucket of the next busker you see singing his/her heart out.

Odesza-Summer's Gone (Album Review)

Even though Odesza's debut Summer's Gone came out in September 2012, it's the perfect electronic LP for August 27th 2013. Nights are finally getting colder here in Madrid, offering temporary respite from the blazing hot days and teasing cooler days to come. Today's jamandahalf is also the perfect wind down to a summer of bangers and big anthems. In some ways sounding like the sonical heirs to Röyksopp, Odesza's chill electronic jams leave you a warm smile on your face, dreading the imminent arrival of cold but confident that right around the corner will be summer again. Hailing from the Pacific Northwest, Odesza (a duo of producers who met in college) seem to be on the very tipping point of stardom. Recently touring with Pretty Lights, I can't wait to see what these guys have brewing. Check them out on their website where you can download Summer's Gone for free (check out the superb IPlayYouListen) or stream them below.

Kanye West-The Samples

Now that the music community's fickle eye has moved passed Yeezus to Jay Z's MCHG, it's ironically the perfect time to take a clearer look at Kanye's newest album. Now that all the instant reactions have passed and the reviews have been posted, the noise has died down and the music has a little space to breathe. But, before I post my thoughts, I want to take a look back on what has been one of the highlights of Kanye's music since his first mixtape: his samples. No matter what you think of Kanye as an artist, you have to appreciate his ear for music which ranges from the souliest Motown to Bollywood ballads. From what I can tell (after an excessive amount of time searching) all of these mixtapes aren't presented ANYWHERE else together online so so here are mixtapes of all (except Late Registration which seemingly doesn't exist) the samples from all of Kanye's six albums and a bonus mixtape from his G.O.O.D. Friday series. Enjoy the incredible variety of tunes! A full Spotify playlist of all these is coming soon!

College Dropout

Late Registration (Impossible to find!)

Graduation

808s and Heartbreak (Video Only)

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Yeezus

WhoSampled Database

G.O.O.D. Friday Series

alt-J -Breezeblocks (Live in Glastonbury)

I had another post all ready to go but it'll wait till tomorrow. alt-J just posted this video on their Facebook account and it put a big smile on my face. Performing at last week's Glastonbury festival, this show really seems to be the capstone on a tumultuous 18 months that has seen the band go from being virtual unknowns to attracting a crowd of tens of thousands at the biggest festival in Europe. I love seeing videos like these: although they have toured extensively you can tell that this is still special for them and their lead singer slips a "we made it" smile in at about the 1:40 mark. I wish nothing but the best for them and only hope that their taking time amongst the nonstop touring to work on their sophomore album (and it seems as though they are!).

Daft Punk-Doin' it Right

Like the ribs at RedHill BBQ in Rancho Cucamonga, California (my favorite BBQ spot in the world and a must visit if you ever find yourself lost in the concrete madness that is the Inland Empire) I musically let the new Daft Punk album smoke gently for hours. Good things come to those who wait and the perfect example is BBQ: only after a seemingly endless amount of time do the subtle flavors of the wood and marinade come out. Like a lot of you I followed every masterful video and teaser, all those subtle hints that turned an album by a (relatively little known 5 years ago) French electronic duo into the biggest album release of the millennium. After managing to ignore almost every preview and first impression post that plagued the blogosphere for those first weeks after the album dropped, I let the album do the talking and I think I can finally taste it: that subtle sweet tang of a track that will stay with me for years.

"Doin' it Right" is most likely the simplest track on Random Access Memories: a repetitive, echoing, loop based jamandahalf that is guaranteed to change this face as Ricky Rubio once said. Building and fading, "Doin' It Right" never loses that undeniable quirkiness that will have me going back to it for years, just like those innumerous trips to RedHill during our college years. 

Download Daft Punk Doin' it Right

Miriam Makeba-Pata Pata

To celebrate what would have been Miriam Makeba's 81st birthday (thanks Google Doodle for the reminder) here is the post we wrote about her eternal jam "Pata Pata" back in the summer of 2011. Make sure you raise one up to Mama Africa at some point today. 

Go to almost any megaclub in the world right now and you're likely to hear the same songs. Take away most of the lyrics other than the chorus and honestly I don't think people would really notice/care. There is nothing behind it, no greater meaning, no higher cause. This is not an attack on getting funky on the dance floor, as I'm known to do, but like my buddy Joey talked about in his great post a while back, the abscene of something more in a lot of modern music is something that belittles it.

It wasn't always like that. Miriam Makeba's great dance track "Pata Pata" is your quintessial dance track. A catchy chorus on top of a danceable beat are the basic ingredients to every club hit out there and this jam is no different. The only difference was the setting. When "Pata Pata" came out, it symbolized something. For black South Africans living in townships, parties and dances were a way to escape Apartheid. Dancing to tracks like this jamandahalf on a crisp Joburg night was a way to forget the toils of day to day life. These parties were often a type of loud but peaceful temporary revolt against a system which in many ways was set up to make life as miserable as possible for millions of people. As long as it makes people happy, I can't criticize someone's musical choices. But it's important to know that not too long ago, dance music meant just a little bit more. 

Click here to download

Miriam Makeba Pata pata

The African Cup of Music

The African Cup of Nations finished about 10 days ago, bringing an end to a lackluster three weeks of footy action. I'm a huge proponent of African football, yet the quality of play displayed on those dusty South African pitches was not what the continent deserved, especially from some of the big names in international football like Yaya Toure, Victor Moses, Didier Drogba, etc.

Among the final four teams was a favorite, the Ghanaian Black Stars, and three underdogs, the Mali Eagles, the Stallions from Burkina Faso, and the Nigerian Super Eagles. In the real-life soccer tourney, Nigeria and Burkina Faso both upset their favored opponents to face each other in the final where a wundergoal by Nigerian Sunday Mba was enough to win it. However my question is, what if instead of 11 athletes, the countries had faced off with 11 songs that defined the last 50-so years of their musical legacies? How would that have played out? You've reached the perfect place to find that answer.

NOTE: I tried my best to have as little personal input in the song choices as possible. As much as I could I picked songs highlighted in the fantastic collection Africa: 50 Years of Music. I also went through some of the wonderful  Putumayo series as well as the Rough Guides to Music and other collections. My selections were limited to what Spotify offers (which is a surprisingly large amount of tunes). I also limited each artist to one song. I one day hope to host the ultimate battle of the bands between all of these artists (with holograms for those who have passed) but that day is not today.

Semifinal 1: Ghana vs Burkina Faso

While Burkina pulled out the shock upset in real life, with the Black Stars once again disappointing their fans by chumping the penalty shootout, this musical match-up is a truly lopsided affair. Burkinabe music is very underexposed, and only features once in the 50 Years Anthology. The Rough Guides and Putumayo barely mention the Sahelian country. Two highlights start off the playlist: "Djon Maya" (a former jamandahalf itself) and "Taximen", yet two studs don't make no footy squad. The other nine songs show promise and some flashes of brilliance, yet the lack of depth hurts the Stallions.

On the other hand, Ghana has had a vibrant and constantly evolving music scene for decades. Highlife music, a fusion of local rhythms mixed with Caribbean flavors, was born from the optimism surrounding Ghanaian independence and produced some legendary musicians such as E.T. Mensah. Highlife later evolved to hiplife and now Ghana is once again making waves on the international music scene with Azonto, a style of music which has already spread to Nigeria and the UK and could quickly be heading to further shores. Azonto revolves around a kaleidoscopic dance that brings in movements from every day life, ranging from calling someone on the phone to brushing your teeth (no joke). Ghana, which also has historical ties to the Rasta movement, keeps the irie vibes going with many well-known homegrown reggae singers. Although the Stallions were, in actuality, able to steal the shine of the Black Stars, in this first semifinal match up, Ghana's combination of historical heavy weights and modern moves make it the clear winner.




Semifinal 2: Nigeria vs Mali

The Malian squad was probably the feel good story of the tourney. While the desert country was in the midst of an icy armed standoff between the shaky government forces and Islamist rebels, Mali surprisingly made its way to the semis, led by former Barcelona midfielder Seydou "Cooler than a Polar Bear's Toenail" Keita. The French/African Union invasion of the rebel held north happened while the tourney was going on and many Malian players revealed shirts with messages of peace after scoring goals, showing their clear understanding of the greater significance of their play. Nigeria was expected to play, well, like Nigeria. Although the team featured stars like Victor Moses and John Obi Mikel, the expectations were that in-fighting and traditional Nigerianness would sink the squad. Nigeria ended up putting on one of the best performances of the tourney in this game, trouncing Mali 4-1 with an impress mix of unstoppable speed and power.

However, the musical battle is a much tighter affair. Mali's rich musical history, stemming from the oral tradition of griots who pass down family history from one generation to another, has today created stars on the world music scene such as Ali Farka Toure, Habib Koite, and Amadou & Mariam. The tradition present in the music is something that's hard to define but easy to hear, so much so that Habib Koite's latest forays into American blues sound sacrilegious  Listening to the dusty classics of greats like Toure, you almost can see the musical lineage work its way through centuries from the griots to across the Atlantic, ending its journey in more modern Jazz and Blues. 

Nigerian music on the other hand is fiercely modern. Afrobeat, the style of music pioneered most famously by Fela Kuti is the Malcolm X to highlife's MLK. Afrobeat both mirrored and influenced the American Soul movement of the 60s and 70s and is sublimely proud while wondering what happened to the promise of independence  Very aware of itself and, above all, very African, Nigerian Afrobeat and funk is undergoing a rediscovery in recent years, spearheaded by a Broadway play based on Fela's life. 

On the pitch, the West African musical titans start their finest 11 each and Mali manages to squeak out the victory with a combination of traditional sounds and modern stars. While the impact of Afrobeat is undeniable, modern Nigerian music fails to live up to the strong musical heritage of the 60s and 70s, a lopsidedness that the Malian greats are able to exploit. 

Championship Match: Ghana vs. Mali

After cruising through the Semifinal, Ghana comes up against a weary but proud Malian squad. Ghana's young guns, the artists at the forefront of the Azonto movement, seem to be the new gatekeepers of a bright musical legacy and are once again putting Ghana on the musical map, gaining unexpected listeners along the way (see: Said the Gramophone). However, although the commercial future for this homegrown movement is bright, the music is more known for its dances than its jams. While this could be perfect in an Instagram/YouTube world, the quality of what's being produced can't compare to the desert ballads of Mali. Mali's musical history is incredibly rich while its future also looks bright. Following the tradition of the griots, Malian music continues to be passed along (sometimes within families themselves such as Ali Farka's oldest son Vieux) with the weight of past grandeur seeming to push younger Malians to excel. While Nigerian and Ghanaian music perhaps better contextualize their young histories as independent nations, it's the timeless, transcendent nature of Malian music that makes it the winner of the Cup of African Music.

In the end we all win. West Africa as a region has a musical heritage that rivals any in the world. Check out the combined songs below, a sampler of 44 songs that give a glimpse into this old yet vibrant tradition.

Youth Lagoon-Dropla

Youth Lagoon's The Year of Hibernation was a coup for bedroom musicians worldwide. Proving that good music doesn't have to be created by the hour, Youth Lagoon's debut was both a contender for the album of the year of 2011 and a possible sign of the wave of the future. It's been almost a year and a half since his debut with nary a peep from the Idahoan but luckily for fans of his chillwave sound and bedroom producers everywhere, he's coming out soon with his sophomore album and is probably celebrating the big news that he'll be playing Coachella in a few months time. Big 2013 for the young man so far, and although I have my doubts that his sound will translate well to the massive tents of Chella, there are few things that sound better through headphones than his almost spartanly minimalistic sound. On his new single "Dropla," YL expands his sound and incorporates effects whose sources seem to range from Bollywood flicks to space travel. A 2013 twist on Peter Pan's "I'll never group up," YL repeats "You'll never die" until it becomes a mantra that guides along a story of betrayal- making this probably the most interesting song I've heard in the last six months. Ending with a drawn out fade-out, "Dropla" is an early standout for a year in music that should be pretty amazing. 

Download Youth Lagoon Dropla

1Train Spotify Playlist

Proving once again that an earlier-than-usual leak means absolutely nothing, A$AP Rocky's debut album LONG.LIVE.A$AP is already being penned in as the best rap album of the year despite it being only mid-January. He's not the best storyteller, and the album is bereft of any stellar lyrical content, but it does have a bold vision and a unique sound and will likely be one of the most influential albums of the year in terms of the direction that rap is going.

Like Lebron taking his talents to South Beach to play alongside of Wade and Bosh, rappers in 2012-13 also seem to putting aside the beefs that marked the rap landscape in the 90s and early 00s to instead get together every chance they can to make supertracks. It's not long before we see another misfated attempt to recreate the rap supergroup like The Firm, and in some ways we already have with groups like OFWGKTA, Slaughter House, and Black Hippy popping up in recent years. A$AP's DWade moment comes on "1Train" off of his debut, where he brings along some of the hottest names from the last eighteen months to create rap's version of the Dunk Contest, with each rapper both introducing his sound to those who don't know while trying to prove that their mic is the biggest in the room. Check out the Spotify playlist below to get a taste of some of the established names and up-and-comers who dropped off verses for this megatrack (Kendrick Lamar, Joey Bada$, Yelawolf, Danny Brown, Action Bronson & Big K.R.I.T.) in order of appearance.

Debruit-Afro Booty Musique

Sometimes when you're blogging, you put absurd pressures on yourself such as, I just posted the first new "Outkast" song in years, what could possibly follow up that firey fuego? The answer is "nothing" so I can either go back into blogging hibernation or drop the funkiest psychedelic bootyshaking jam I've heard in the last year; and that's exactly what I'll do.

"Afro Booty Musique" is a song that somehow sounds a lot longer than 5+ minutes. An interstellar journey between the planets shakewatyomammagaveya and FelaKuti, it juggles being just bizarre enough so that you are intrigued with funky enough so that you listen to it over and over again. Fusing together space-age sound effects with traditional drumming breakdowns, this song is probably like nothing you've ever heard before. On Twitter, the artist calls himself an "afro-beat surrealist" which is incredibly fitting and his creation of afrobeat surrealism is something I'm looking to hear more from, at least on days when I want to take spaceship journeys to one of West Africa's finest musical exports.

Click here to download 

Pink Matter-Frank Ocean feat. Outkast(?)

There can be no clearer sign that JamandaHalf has to spread its wings again than a new song featuring Outkast (or is it Andre 3000 + Big Boi?). Regardless, hearing the two on the same song again is undeniably a treat, especially when it's on one of best jams of 2012, Frank Ocean's "Pink Matter." Like seeing two old friends kick it after not seeing each other for a while, hearing Big Boi play off of Andre's verse is both comfortable and a little awkward, it sounds both familiar and distant. Both are representing themselves, not the mighty Outkast, but appearing on the same song makes them Outkast, right? With Big Boi having released a critically blasted but enjoyable album recently, and Dre sticking to Gillette commercials, the gulf separating the two seems to increasingly grow, a gulf which 3000 addressed on a cameo on TI's "Sorry." A theory that I've had all along is that Andre is no longer making music because of a lack of competition. He reminds us that he's the best rapper alive with a cameo here or there, but as far as new competition to himself or to Outkast as a group, there hasn't been any. However, with the emergence of Frank Ocean, Kendrick Lamar, etc, we are finally seeing artists who have both the creativity and the skills to challenge both Dre and Big Boi, and Outkast, and this rise has also seen an uptick in the number of Dre features. Regardless, I can only pray to the music gods that this trend continues. The JamandaHalf bear finally got his spring sun to wake him up from his hibernation, this time he'll stick around for a while.

Jake Bugg-Simple as This and Country Song

Picture Credit: Luke Dyson Photography

Listening to Jake Bugg sometimes feels like listening to a 21st century teenager who stumbled upon a time machine and decided that he wanted to do nothing more than to go back to the 60's to record music. Modern references sometimes clash with the stripped down musical backing, and although you might feel that the 18 year old hasn't lived enough to make an album of folksy rock tunes, Jake speaks about what he knows. On his self-titled debut, Bugg at times struggles to maintain consistency throughout the 14 short tracks (most of which clock in at a very retro 3 minutes or less), but shows enough promise that you keep listening and are left with the feeling that only special things will come from the young Brit. "Simple as This" and "Country Song" are great tracks to get to know his musical stylings and are standout tracks on an album whose inconsistency is far outweighed by true talent and a committed dedication to the British tradition of storytelling.

Buy Jake Bugg here


Download Jake Bugg Simple As This


Download Jake Bugg Country Song

Ben Harper-Suzie Blue (Live Acoustic Ukulele)

Though I often proclaim my love for music on this blog, my personal attempts at music creation have seemed to crash and burn. Apart from a brief stint playing the trumpet, and later as a member of a virtuouso extremely underground rap crew, my most recent foray into the world of music making has been with my ukulele. The always optimistic instrument has challenged me the last few years, and although I succeeded in my original goal of being able to decently play IZ's version of "Over the Rainbow," I hit a plateau fairly quickly. Ben Harper is a wizard of instruments (growing up in his grandparents' music store in Claremont didn't hurt) and never seems to be afraid of cutting everything away from his songs until only the bare bones remains. In his recent acoustic tour which went through New Zealand, Harper brought his uke along and plays a minimalist version of "Suzie Blue" that I love. Giving a completely different feel to the song which was originally featured on his 1999 album Burn To Shine, Harper also helps out the beleaguered instrument gain some clout in its eternal quest to do so. Check out the .mp3 of the live version, the video of the live version, and an .mp3 of the album version all below.

Download Ben Harper Suzie Blue (Live Acoustic Ukulele)



Download Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals Suzie Blue

Michael Kiwanuka-Home Again

Many of the songs featured in the Marathon Jam Playlist on Monday were endeavors in musical brinkmanship, pushing the limits of what a song is and can be. But sometimes what you want from a song is simplicity and comfort and "Home Again" from Michael Kiwanuka provides just that. Apparently a big hit in Britain, today's jamandahalf rolls along in waves and has a repetition to it that is undeniably soothing. The son of Ugandan refugees, Kiwanuka was born and raised in the UK and has crafted a perfect jam for rainy, wistful days like today has been. Projecting melancholy hopefulness, "Home Again" perfectly captures that peculiar feeling of going back home. Check it out below.

Buy Home Again


Download Michael Kiwanuka Home Again

Staff Benda Bilili-Osali Mabe

Staff Benda Bilili eclipse just being a great story; they make some pretty damn good music. The core of the band is four paraplegics who had polio when they were younger, leaving them without the use of their legs (check out their great public service announcement to remind parents to get their kids vaccinated against the disease here). Tired of being rejected by other bands in Kinshasa, the members joined forces, practicing and living in the city zoo while working as street performers across the sprawling Congolese capital. You can't make this stuff up. Discovered by a Belgian producer, the group have now made names for themselves on the World Music scene, recently having released their latest album. Two albums down, the band gained exposure due to their unique story but will be around for a long time due to their unique music. "Osali Mabe" is the perfect introduction to the band's sound: a great mixture of traditional Central Africa call and response backed up by some funky Caribbeanesque groove. The shrieking electric guitar is actually Roger Landu, a teenage street kid who was taken in by the band who made his guitar out of a tin can. The odds they had to go against for me to jam to their sounds were immense, the music even better. Check them out below. 

Buy Bouger Le Monde! here

Download Staff Benda Bilili Osali Mabe

Sam Lee-On Yonder Hill

Sam Lee is on a mission to save British folk music. Having traveled the country learning old folk songs, he recently released his debut album Ground of Its Own which is his take on these old ballads. The result is a striking mix of words and instruments that sometimes borders on jarring. With modern music largely eschewing any semblance of story, Lee's music puts the story front and center and surrounds it with a medley of sounds ranging from a didgeridoo to an old show tune that sounds like it was borrowed from Yann Tiersen. Both a homage to a music he loves and a distinctly unique musical experiment, Ground of Its Own and "On Yonder Hill" take us back a few years and shows us what we're missing today.

Buy Ground Of Its Own here


Download Sam Lee On Yonder Hill

Matt & Kim-Now

After a few weeks in which I added a Master's to my "title," right after the BigLexiconMagic, I'm back to this beaut and will be churning out daily jamandahalfs for the near future. Do come again.  

In some ways, Matt & Kim have been trying to recreate "Daylight" (their debut single) for years now because in some ways, "Daylight" is the perfect Matt & Kim song. Even if they never again catch lightning in a bottle, they still are making some pretty dope music and on their recent release Lightning they are once again filling their unique groove. When you listen to the Brooklyn duo, you know exactly what you're going to get. For many of the mundane chores of life: long bus rides, walking to work in the rain, filling out endless job applications, the upbeat stylings of the two provide the perfect soundtrack. "Now" has, after years of being occupied largely by Southern crunk and Dutch house, taken the throne of my official pump-up jam and is a raucous reaffirmation of right now making the best out of a life that sometimes tries to get you down.


Download Matt & Kim Now

Ab-Soul-Track Two

Rap is a great equalizer. Anyone can download Audacity, throw on a beat, and do their best _______ impression (insert favorite rapper here). Starting a rock band is the combination of years of practice on individual instruments; becoming an opera virtuoso takes decades of classical training. That's not to say that being a rapper is in any way easy-a rapper's flow is the product of endless dedication and repetition. But because it is so  "easy" to be a "rapper" the mean product from the rap community is sometimes diluted. Yet when something special comes around it really does stand out in a way that rock groups rarely do.

One such artist is Ab-Soul. Part of the Black Hippy supergroup (along with Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar and ScHoolboy Q), Ab-Soul sounds like almost nothing out there. Painfully honest at times (channeling a Slim Shady LP Em) with the storytelling prowess of a young Ghostface, Ab-Soul also just sounds plain jarring at times.  Could be his high voice, might be the flow which seems to change each song..whatever it is it is undeniably unique and intriguing. "Track Two," the literal second track on his newest album Control System is a great introduction to his sound. If you like what you hear buy Control System here.


Download Ab-Soul Track Two

Kishi Bashi-151a

The other day, while listening to Kishi Bashi's phenomenal debut album 151a and kicking it in my sweltering Madrid apartment, a visiting buddy of mine commented that, "these guys sound like the Beatles." Although Kishi Bishi is in fact a one-man superband, in some ways he's right. That ought to be a clear compliment; any positive references to one, if not the, greatest band in history should be enough to make any band blush, but such a comparison carries a lot of weight and expectations, along with a kind of "heard it before" attitude. It's like a video game garnering comparisons to Mario or Donkey Kong.

The comparison, more than a sonical evaluation, is most valid if describing the exploratory nature of 151a, a pursuit that defines the Beatles' work, especially in their later albums. 151a exudes the creativity of an artist testing both his talent and skills gained through years of hard work and turning that into nine tracks of something special. Checkout two standout tracks below as well as a link to buy the album.

Buy 151a here


Download Kishi Bashi Bright Whites


Download Kishi Bashi I Am the Antichrist to You