Bobby Brown - Discography

No, not THAT Bobby Brown...

This is a bizarro one-man-band from Hawaii who recorded during the mid-seventies. I don't know why this guy's stuff is slowly disappearing from the internet, because it is quite exceptional. It kind of bridges the (albeit large) gap between spaced-out new age drone and psych-folk, with a lot of laid-back Hawaiian influence as well.

The story goes that this loner surfer-type guy built this giant....instrument?? I guess?? out of whatever he had laying around. So he literally plays all the sounds you're hearing at once, at least on most of the tracks. You can kind of see his gadget on the cover of his first LP, 'The Enlightening Beam of Axonda,' and it looks basically fucked. He and his dog would travel around in an old van wherever the surfing was good, giving impromptu performances of these strange, mellow songs. I've read his voice described as similar to Tim Buckley, which I guess is kind of true.

The first album is very odd, sounding kind of like a gamelan orchestra playing 70's folk rock. The second album, 'Bobby Brown Live,' is not quite so strange, but the story behind it is definitely weird. Supposedly, he was picked to open for Fleetwood Mac (which, to me, sounds like a big deal) and recorded the performance for this album. Brown, however, was unsatisfied with the crowd sounds(!), feeling they distracted from the music, and re-recorded the entire thing in his van AFTER the show. Whatever the case, it doesn't really sound like a 'live' record or anything.

A few years later, he did a much more pop-oriented album called 'Prayers of a One Man Band.' Well...it's HIS interpretation of pop music, which is still pretty odd. It's got a lot of vintage synths and drum machines, and a lot of people seem to feel it's his best release. I dunno about that, but it is very good. The songs are also MUCH shorter, which might appeal to some listeners.

Anyhow, here are all three albums for ya to check out:

Bobby Brown - 'The Enlightening Beam of Axonda'

Tracklist:

1. I Must Be Born
2. My Hawaiian Home
3. Oneness with the Forest
4. Tiny Wind of Shandl

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Bobby Brown - 'Bobby Brown Live'

Tracklist:

1. Hawaii
2. In Search of a Dream
3. Let Me on Board
4. My Dog is Every Bit as Good as Me
5. The Waterfall of Love
6. Lonely Boy No More
7. Mother Nature We're Guilty/I Don't Wanna Be No Macho Joe
8. Motherless Child

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Bobby Brown - 'Prayers of a One Man Band'

Tracklist:

1. The Boy a Sailor
2. Steamboat Mama
3. Sail On
4. Lady Tennessee
5. Jungle Cowboy
6. Hawaii Nei I'll Miss You
7. The Peaceful Ko 'Olaus
8. My Dog the Outlaw
9. If the Angels Cry
10. Sweet Clean Air
11. I'm Bolieve
12. The Cry of the Wild

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DJ Kridlokk - 'Mutsi'

I kinda stopped paying attention to newer rap music after people started hyping bullshit like Yung Lean...seemed like it was degenerating back into the kind of crap I grew up around like Lil Jon, just a more 'hip' and self-conscious version of it. I dunno. Maybe I'm wrong. But I was very excited when 'Mista Thug Isolation' and 'Goblin' and even Shabazz Palaces came out, and it seemed like every album had a fresh sound.

Well, leave it to an isolated country like Finland to put a different spin on things.

Yes, this album is VERY influenced by 90's Memphis rap. But, somehow, even with the same 808 drums and repetitious vocal hooks, there is something different happening here. Maybe it's that the music is infused with a feeling of...I don't know, but what I can only imagine came from growing up in one of the most beautiful and isolated parts of the world. Seriously, 'beautiful' is not a word I'd throw around when talking about rap music (at least not the stuff I like) but these are really gorgeous beats.

And, Kridlokk's flow is straight out of a Three 6 Mafia cassette-era track, but his deep, unaffected voice goes perfect with these beats. His guest cast range from pitched-down weirdos (Eevil Stöö) to cartoonish gangstas (Tuutimörkö) and it all creates this feeling of 'we've been here doing our thing, where the fuck were you?'

I only understand a few words here and there (namely 'Memphis,' 'gangsta' and 'broke ass bitch') but it doesn't even matter when appreciating this album. Although, after having spoken to a couple of these guys, it seems the lyrics are far more demented than you could imagine. They've created these over-the-top gangsta personas who would rather get smoked out and eat chicken in the recording studio than shoot you.

Seriously, this is some strange stuff:





I do enjoy the fact that they seem to have latched onto the idea of rap cassettes and cassette culture more so than the Memphis-influenced artists over here. And that they've combined this blown-out, evil style of production with the gonzo humor of the Beastie Boys.

There are, in fact, quite a few references to golden-era hip hop throughout the albums these guys release, which is a style most rappers over here wouldn't dare combine with menacing trap beats.

Anyhow, I'm not posting a link to the album...you can find it on a couple other blogs, but I'd really recommend you support these dudes. It is on Spotify if you do that.

From the sound of it, they are actually chart-topping performers over in their native country(!) which makes our mainstream rap look like...well....garbage, I guess?

Don't sleep on this shit.

DJ Kridlokk - 'Mutsi'

Tracklist:

1. Mit Vit Ei Mit
2. Lokin Ipsum
3. Akuutti elämä
4. IDKFA
5. Stö & Lok (ft. Eevil Stöö)
6. Bout it Bout it
7. Paskat siit '14
8. Hynät, rahat ja ruplat (ft. Tuuttimörkö)
9. Teepait
10. Ikinä kii
11. Mutsi
12. X

Depressive Tongue Posse - new singles

The DTP have dropped a couple new singles in the past few weeks...one is a celebration of springtime and all things drugs...the other is definitely a darker affair. It's a blown out, distorted murder-daydream about being a minimum wage employee. It also has an insane video:




Both singles are available on the DTP Bandcamp page.