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The Game

Brake Lights
(Free Download)

myspace.com/thegame

In this day and age, mixtapes get dropped left, right and centre. Every day some rapper from the back-end of nowhere throws another diamond-encrusted photoshopped digital mixtape on the blogs trying to make a name for himself to follow in the footsteps of Fiddy. As a result, mixtapes have become fairly pointless for the most part, but when someone like The Game drops one, clearly it’s worth a listen. Brake Lights has been put out for free online to get the hype machine going for the release of the upcoming full-length The R.E.D. Album and if this is anything to go by, his fourth album is going to be huge.

The Game is a great rapper, but has often found himself come under criticism for changing his style up too often to fit the guest rapper and simply name-checking famous rappers every other line. This mixtape is sure to put an end to all that as Jayceon Taylor goes in hard from the very start, with the opening track bombing in following an intro from Busta and breezing into a track featuring Snoop on the guest spot on Trading Places. With Snoop going in with more pronounced energy than his typically laid-back style, it’s a mixtape that feels a lot more like an album proper, which says a lot about the quality on show.

Production from Cool & Dre is more or less always a gold star award and their heavy drums over suitably large vocal samples prove to be the perfect backdrop to the vocals. Cold Blood has Game rapping about the perils of being either a Crip or a Blood, Ecstacy shows their understated side and Street Riders, which features Nas and a somehow not-at-all-annoying sung chorus by Akon gives Game the chance to be the G that we all know he is, on a track that apparently was originally a diss against Pharrell and 50 Cent.

There are times when the production seems to be the total opposite of what Game would normally rap over, such as the folk-sampling You Are The Blood and the standout track on the album Hustlin’ [Champions’ Anthem] but that shows that he’s certainly matured and gained a versatility he hasn’t shown in his previous releases. In short, The Game has released a free mixtape that stands alongside his studio albums, if not edges past them – get involved in this by grabbing the mixtape from here.

Abjekt

You can stream or download Hustlin‘ below. Schweet.

The Game – Hustlin’ (Champions Anthem) by Crossfire Music

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Album Reviews Buzz Chart Reviews

The Count & Sinden

Mega Mega Mega
Domino Records

myspace.com/countandsinden

As separate producers, Hervé and Sinden have only danced around trends when the bandwagon booty shakes and wobbles its cumbersome way  into the fray of their own personal tastes. It just so happens that both Joshua Harvey (The Count/Hervé) and Graeme Sinden have a diverse selection of influences from sounds old, new and never-even-heard-before that simply work wonders in the ears of both music-lovers and relentless blog DJs alike.

The foreshadowing began when the hypegeist caught on to the visceral bass jam ‘Beeper‘: a fine enough introduction to provoke mass anticipation for a debut. Said debut is – on first listen – as varied as everyone hoped it would be. Furthermore, it’s very, very clever; not so much intelligent as naturally blooming with distinction, personal experience and inherited club knowledge.

Rather than following the roads signposted by the blogosphere, Count and Sinden very much lay their own, and opener Do You Really Want It fuzzes and bubbles out of shaking sub-woofers cements just that as Trackademicks boldly announces ‘It’s something that you know exists, but you’ve never really seen‘. Following is the ultimate pop cross-over After Dark that re-contextualises the twingly indie club sound into something bulging with tropical lukewarm euphoria, friendly for radio playlists and free parties alike.

The beats are constantly in the foreground, beginning with Mujava-inspired funk meets baltimore club in Desert Rhythm before descending a whippy yet seamless transition into a minimal kick snare beeper beeper SMD-style jam, Hardcore Girls. The track features Rye Rye snarling and glowing in between rolling pseudo-drops and more delicious bass. Katy B continues to confirm her reputation as female of the NOW. Rinse’s similarly underground to chart-stomping singer-songwriter gives the listener a little harmony before title-ish track ‘MEGA‘ absolutely saws its way through your ear drums. Crossfire’s beat-connoisseur Abjekt just declared that this (Mega) was the stand-out track. So it is settled.

A superb, thoroughly rewarding debut that’s as mega as the unequivocal title suggests.

Stanley

Check out the video for ‘After Dark‘ below, and keep scrolling for remixes of the track including a free download from recent Crossfader subjects C.R.S.T. and more. Banging.

The Count & Sinden – After Dark (Remixes) by DominoRecordCo

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Music News

New Evidence video!

We gave you a teaser last week, but now we have the finished product – the new Evidence video.

To Be Continued… sees the Dilated Peoples MC rap his track word for badboy word whilst zipping around a rollercoaster. Doesn’t really get much better than that does it? The beat bumps too.

Watch out for his album Cats & Dogs out on Rhymesayers coming soooooooon(ish)

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Music News

Public Enemy announce UK live show

Public Enemy need no introduction; one of the most important hip-hop acts to walk the earth are playing the London Indig02 on November 14th.

The original line-up of Chuck D, Flavour Flav and Professor Griff will be coming to the UK to play a one-off set of tracks that have played their part in shaping pop culture and influencing countless artists regardless of what kind of music they play.

Tickets go on sale on Friday 20th August at 9am from Ticket Master.

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Music News

Behemoth post new video

The Polish death metal warlocks Behemoth have posted the new videoclip for ‘Alas, The Lord Is Upon Me‘.

We were given the choice of posting the censored and the uncensored video. Guess what one we haven’t embedded?

Click the above if you’re a wimp. Watch below for the gnarly stuff…

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Music News

Manchester Orchestra’s Bad Books announce debut

New York songwriter Kevin Devine has unintentionally fallen into an exciting side-project with Manchester Orchestra’s Andy Hull, dubbed Bad Books.

Despite not having any particular agenda, the duo have composed a debut self-titled album with the rest of Manchester Orchestra and have announced that it will be released on October 19th through Favourite Gentleman Records.

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Music News

Beyond Punk curated by Gaye Advert

Signal Gallery are currently hosting the ‘Beyond Punk‘ exhibition that features the artwork of countless punk musicians and friends that have made a snotty impact on the world of culture.

Curated by legendary Adverts bassist, Gaye Advert, the exhibition features work involving the following…

Adam Ant (Adam & the Ants), Charlie Harper (UK Subs), Chris Brief (The Briefs), Dale Grimshaw, Dee Generate (Eater), Gaye Black (Adverts), Gee Vaucher (Crass), Jamie Reid (Sex Pistols), Knox (Vibrators), Nick Taggart (Zkrr Zkretna), Philip Barker (Buzzcocks), Poly Styrene (X Ray Spex), Shanne Bradley (Nipple Erectors), Shepard Fairey, Steve Ignorant (Crass) and Youth (Killing Joke).

Beyond Punk will be running until the 21st August so get down there you filthy punks.

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Music News

Final ATP additions announced

The final acts to be joining the Godspeed You Black Emperor curated All Tomorrow’s Parties roster have been announced.

Tindersticks, Throbbing Girls, The Sadies, Yomul Yuk and Dreamcatcher join GY!BE, Deerhoof, Weird Al Yankovich and more at The Nightmare Before Christmas event in December.

The Nightmare Before Christmas will be held at Butlins in Minehead, the full-line up is as follows.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor
‘Weird Al’ Yankovic
Throbbing Gristle
Tindersticks
The Sadies
Yomul Yuk
Dreamcatcher
Neurosis
Bardo Pond
The Ex
Deerhoof
The Dead C
Black Dice
Francisco Lopez
Tim Hecker
Mike Watt
Scout Niblett
Wolves In The Throne Room
Marissa Nadler
Growing
Rangda
Nomeansno
Josephine Foster (Solo)
White Magic
Emeralds
Daniel Higgs (Lungfish)
Boban I Marko Markovic Orchestra
Charlemagne Palestine
Country Teasers
Daniel Menche
Maher Shalal
Hash Baz
Borbetomagus
Flower
Corsano Duo
Keiji Haino
Bruce McClure
Mahjongg
Cluster
Berg Sans Nipple
Sick Llama
Oneida Presents The Ocropolis
Hanged Up With Tony Conrad
Thee Oh Sees
Matana Roberts
Land Of Kush
Philip Jeck
John Butcher
Yomul Yuk
Dreamcatcher
The Sadies


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Music News

Municipal Waste reschedule UK tour

Virginia Thrash four-piece Municipal Waste have announced that they will reschedule their UK tour dates for December.

The band will be supported by Saviours and Ramming Speed at the following dates…

December 13th – Fleece and Firkin, Bristol
December 14th – Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
December 15th – Ivory Blacks, Glasgow
December 17th – Academy 2, London

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Music News

Rustie announces EP and mini-mix

Rustie has announced his next release.  

The new Warp signee will drop his Sunburst EP on the label on October 4th. To get you in the mood for what’s to come from the Scottish beat-wizard, he’s put together a mini-mix of the tracks on the EP for your listening pleasure.

So THIS is what’s inside Pikachu’s cunt.

Rustie – Sunburst EP Minimix (out 4/5 October on Warp Records) by Warp Records