Underground Fossils was an indie rap focused blog run by myself (Dimxsk) and by Trylemma, who passed August 3rd, 2024 from liver failure of unknown origin at the age of 34. We mostly posted week or twice weekly, the bulk of which were rare rips we made, found on old blogs, he acquired through his insanely broad connection to the scene, etc. We did all we could to make sure we didn't post stuff that (1) You could still reasonably buy from the artist directly, (2) You could reasonably buy secondhand for cheap, (3) You could download easily elsewhere, (4) The artist(s) asked us not to for any reason. Being involved in this blog was some of the most fun I ever had, even if at times it was time consuming, challenging or intimidating (having a readership). It was the product of one of the best friendships I've ever had. If I could say one last thing, it's to encourage all of you: if you have the time and desire, make your own UGF. Find a friend who loves this shit like you do and build it together. It will bring you incredible joy, enhance your connection to this amazing community, and change your life in unexpected and exciting ways. I know it did mine. Love you all!

Friday, October 1, 2021

jamesphoney & jamesreindeer - Rough Tongue Surfaces (2008)

 


 For this Friday's post I wanted to return to an old favorite for these free album downloads, the defunct label Decorative Stamp. I was a huge fan of the work they put out, in my opinion some of the most interesting and frankly beautiful experimental rap came from that collective. And today's post is in my opinion the definitive DS album, Rough Tongue Surfaces by jamesphoney & jamesreindeer.

If you liked anticon (okay, yes there are some valid reasons to dislike them but they did put out some solid music as well) and you haven't heard this one, I urge you to give it a try. Imagine cLOUDDEAD with a darker, more unsettling and less "circusy" vibe, and you probably have an idea what to expect from this.

The two james' both have some of the most unique rap voices I've heard coming out of Europe. jamesphoney fronts a folk troupe now called BURIERS, or A Band of Buriers, and if not in an especially good mood and you're interested in seeing Neville Longbottom mutilate himself then you can watch their video for the haunting track "Filth" below:

 

 

Jamesreineer, or reindeer had a somewhat successful debut with France's fbcfabric. By far their best track, "Soulsuck" can be seen below:



I love these guys, and the album they craft together over beats from mega talented folks like Joel Siméus and Nimrod is in my humble opinion one of the best, most evocative and most listenable abstract hip hop albums ever made.


Enjoy Rough Tongue Surfaces!


Unfortunately I messed up. This is available pretty much everywhere, and somehow when I googled it it didn't show up until now. So rather than take money out of the pockets of people who I have tremendous respect for, and in keeping with how we do shit at UGF I have removed this link. If you already got it you lucked out because I guarantee the Decorative Stamp version has cooler stuff than the Amazon one. Sorry James and James. Let this post be a promo for their huge body of great work.

 

 


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