Dead Indians - Indian Affairs (2005)

 

 

Well it's a new year and a new beginning for UGF. Trylemma is back in effect and as you read last week we now have a biweekly(ish) segment we're calling Breaking Ground where we introduce each other to music we're not familiar with and record the results for posterity. I promise you that it will not only be as (hopefully) interesting to read as our old, obsolete New Album posts (with a cooler on brand name) but I think it's safe to say that if one of two heads with collections going back to the turn of the century hasn't heard something chances are many of you haven't as well, meaning most of us are probably going to discover some classics we've been sleeping on for years.

That said... ground isn't getting broken this week. Soon my friends.

 Anyway, as much fun as I sometimes have writing this blog I have to admit that I also do it for some selfish reasons. For one thing I got good people like DJ Kaohtix sending me music from my public wantlist and in the process giving me new shit I wasn't aware of. Some of you who've been viewing UGF since the beginning (2019, before the world moved on...) remember I made a promise to share that stuff with ya'll, and I'm seriously doing it one week at a time. So here's a great one from our neighbor to the North, Dead Indians on Indian Affairs.

This one is fire. Political hip hop from the Indigenous perspective. Homemade sound and mastering quality but the lyrics are dope and the passion is real. Definitely an important piece of Winnipeg rap, and try as I might I couldn't get any decent background info on this. They all sound so young it's hard to be sure who is who, and I don't know anyone from that areas real names which is all the album art drops on us.

DJ Moves does a halfway decent mini-interview over at Living Underwater here. I'll just end with that so enjoy!

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Manik - 1derful Mixtape (2009)

 

Happy New Year's everyone! Before we get to today's post, quick note. Moving forward, Dimxsk and I (being back) will be doing something new for the blog this year entitled, "Breaking Ground." Essentially, every other week, we'll take turns listening to a rec from the other, that we have not heard before, and giving our brief thoughts about it. This could range from newer stuff we've never heard of to oldies that we haven't gotten around to for one reason or another. Dimxsk is gonna start things off next week with a recommendation I have cooking up for him. If anyone has suggestions, feel free to let us know! 

As for today's upload, we've got Manik's "1derful Mixtape" from 2009. We've posted some Manik before, but for those who don't know, he is a Vancouver, CA rapper perhaps best known for his work with DJ Sichuan (as the Sunday Skool Dropouts) and his battles with KOTD.

The "1derful Mixtape" is a project that Manik dropped I believe on his website back in 09. It is definitely a product of that time period and, upon re-listening, had me remembering back to the good ol' Datpiff days. The tape has Manik spitting verses over popular beats of the time, complete with blends and DJ drops lol! While this isn't going to blow your mind (it's not on the Lil Wayne level of mixtapes,) it might still have some of the better raps that Manik has spit over the years. The guestlist is fun too, with appearances from Jeff Spec, Evil Ebenezer, DJ Sichuan, and Joey Stylez amongst others.

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The Twilight Idols - Apathetic Palm Reader (2006)

 

 

In celebration of the release of the tangentially related and stylistically similar new (?) Papervehicle album I am happy to present this humble garage product. The Twilight Idols were a New Cocoon affiliated creation, I believe between Slew and someone named Oger, as well as someone else with some contributions by Edison (which is why I thought of this when I saw the new PV album). I was educated on the history of New Cocoon by a founding member and they mentioned this group and the chemistry they demonstrate on this album.

Basically if you like the music I usually do (experimental hip hop with melodic production) you will love this one. Enjoy!

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New Music: Andrre - Lac Noir EP

 

 

Well, I figured it's been a while since I did a review post and I managed to unearth an album I bet most of you (outside the Francophone world at least) were probably sleeping on, so here goes...

Andrre is one of my favorite rappers. He has one of the most interesting voices in indie rap, bursting with personality and subtle coolness. I always come away from an Andrre tune feeling like I just heard the unfortunate but ultimately uplifting life story of the Canadian badass sitting with me at the bar. I've never thought anyone could truly hate this guys music, he's just got so many perfect songs. Take "Big Jet Plane (Zoen Remix)", a gorgeous re-imagining of the Angus and Julia Stone tune. Or "The Fades", a Degiheugi produced, piano driven masterpiece that literally gives me chills every time I hear it. (I found out where the sample comes from, and it's truly unbelievable. One of the most genius uses of a sample I've ever heard.).

All that said, I realize that like me many of his English speaking listeners are probably not aware of his work with X-Ray Records and the resulting EP here. I stumbled onto it after really falling in love with Degiheugi's production (basically ever since hearing "Keeping the Memory Alive" which has one of my favorite beats of all time I believe) and I don't know if it was ever promoted to his hip hop listeners or posted to any Bandcamp account.

So let me be the first to break the great news! Lac Noir is the first Andrre release since the excellent 2019 EP Dichotomie out on French label Dora Dorovich, and for those of us in the know it's been a long wait. I don't have much to say about this little EP, mostly I was just excited to find it and share it with everyone who might have missed it. Most important to mention is that Andrre has moved away from rap driven tunes. This is essentially a collection of indie folk songs, but this Beatles / Radical Face-esque offering brings with it all of his emotional turmoil, playful innocence and fearless self exploration in the form of his poetry and melodies. It is very very good, while also very very short.

 

You can pick it up from iTunes, or stream the whole thing here on YouTube. I'm so used to linking to Bandcamp it feels incomplete not to, but I guess that's it. Hope everyone's staying out of this crazy weather!

Enjoy!