Super Happy Wax Records - The North West Compilation One (2006)

 

This week's late post comes from one of my favorite piles of things to collect - northwest compilations. And this one, from 2006, has a pretty fitting title: "The North West Compilation One" from Super Happy Wax Records.

Super Happy Wax was a Portland label/store from the mid-late 2000's that seemed to have really got going once Northwest Order started slowing down. They put out some records from Smoke, Nite Owls (Mr. Hill and Barfly from Oldominion,) and Clockwerk (Iame/Goldini Bagwell from The Sandpeople.) I perhaps remember them most for their online store and message board from back in the day where you could cop some now NW gems and interact with other NW Hip Hop junkies. 

"The North West Compilation One" was a label sampler that Super Happy Wax would give away with online orders (I think you could buy it separately for like a buck.) The act list includes Cool Nutz, Grayskul, DJ Wicked, Abadawn, Santotzin, Cancer Rising, Mo-B, OnlyOne, Soul Plasma, and many more. Unfortunately, future installments of the compilation series never came to be. Thanks to the legendary FTD scene group for the rip! 

The North West Compilation One

NOTES:

- Check out the new Gumshoe Strut EP that dropped today, "NT2D," HERE. MC Homeless, Nolto, and Chaps make appearances. 

- Some deep Project Blowed heads may be familiar with Naj Ahead (formerly N/A of Tha Lepht.) Guy has been dropping some really good instrumental and remix projects in the last handful of years on his Bandcamp and last week he dropped "Random Rap Remixes Vol 2" HERE. Check it. 

- And speaking of the Blowed, Abstract Rude just dropped his latest installment in his "Trax" series with "Making Indie Traxx: Dusty Pointy Fingers" HERE. He usually ends up printing CDs of these down the road for those who want to wait for the physical. 

- Also don't sleep on Bloomcycle's and Old Grape God's "I Turn the Room to a Lava Lamp," Riddlore's and Debmaster's "Unreleased Tracks," Nickel Hawkeye's "Becoming Unbroken," and El Gran E Record's (who is putting out a new Epic record this year) "Sampler (2020-2023)" which all dropped earlier this month. 

Barfly of Oldominion - I've Been Worse (2007) [+ Notes Section]

 

Today's post is a filler from a request I got on Discogs from Vims: Barfly's "I've Been Worse" album from 2007. (We'll also now occasionally be having a little "Notes Section" at the end of posts whenever seen fit to drop miscellaneous things.)

Barfly is one of the most productive members from the Oldominion crew. He's a core member in groups Candy's.22, Saturday Knights, Big Kids Run, and Leather Tuscadero. He's released projects with Onry Ozzborn, Graves33, and Mr. Hill. He produces under the moniker Floods, and he's even dropped a full length novel (in addition to various zines and poems.) Even so, 2007's "I've Been Worse" is really his only official solo album yet. A quick look around the net revealed that it no longer seems to be available to buy anywhere online, so I figured it could be documented here. 

I've always loved Barfly's sound. His punk rock background, side of the mouth sarcastic delivery, and penchant for great complementary production makes him one of the most unique artists out of the PacNW - and this album really puts that on display. Features include Onry Ozzborn, Snafu, and NyQwil. 

And for those who want to keep up to date, Barfly has dropped a new EP this year entitled "A Light In The Dark" which is currently for sale exclusively on Concuss Creations HERE.

I've Been Worse

Notes:  

Today is once again Bandcamp Friday (it looks like Epic hasn't ruined things yet?) so be sure to support the artists that have them. I'm personally looking forward to today's new releases from Awol One/Id Obelus/Rove ("Fresh Air EP,") Jade River/Beond of Acid Reign ("Conquest Part 3,") Billy Woods/Kenny Segal ("Maps,") Five Fingers of Funk ("Portland Say It Again,") and Buck 65 ("Super Dope,") You can also head over to Fake Four's Bandcamp and pre-order Factor Chandelier's new album "Moving Like A Planet." 

RIP to HelloLA records - they put out some of the best looking cassettes and overall artwork over the years. Bertrand is now working with Adeem in a new label called "Echo Finch." They recently dropped a new album from Rain entitled "The And // Chapter 2," with features from Open Mike Eagle, Onry Ozzborn, John Robinson, Moe Pope, Latrell James and more HERE. 

If you were a high tier member in the Fake Fouragers program last year, be sure to check that you got the new vinyl fossil from Ceschi - an exclusive 12" record filled with new music exclusively for subscribers. Word is, his final Ceschi project, "Bring Me The Head of Francisco False" will also be released exclusively on vinyl for those who pre-ordered the Ceschi/Factor trilogy. 

Anyone else miss the blogs of yesteryear? Shout out to Beetbak, This Is For The Hustlers, Record Science, Ludz, Thirdman, and obviously the great GhettoTyylit! Hoping for a new Til Infinity post soon! 

Trylemma's Spooky Dooky Halloween Mixtape V2

 

And we're back!!!! No new version this year, but relive the horror with these 29 carefully picked tracks to get you through the season! 

TRACKLIST:

1. Onry Ozzborn - Intro

2. Wool See - Midsommar

3. The Mighty Underdogs - Monster

4. Awol One & Mascaria - Wolfman

5. Earlybirds - Walking Dead

6. Meyer Wolfsheim - Haunted Soiree

7. Duella Deville (Nebz Supreme) - Full Moon Rising

8. Signor Benedick The Moor - Halloween Song

9. Port Authority - Werewolves

10. Moe Pope & Rain - Gotham

11. Genghis Khan - Friday The 13th

12. Die Young & Deeskee - Vampire Hunter

13. Del Tha Funkee Homosapien & Bukue One - Horror Slides

14. Circus - Jason Voorhees Wont Stop Dien

15. Debmaster - March Of The Monsters

16. Azrael The Silent Angel - Gothic Horror

17. Swamp Thing Feat. More or Les, Wordburglar & Jesse Dangerously - Monster Island

18. Cookbook & Uno Mas - Monster Mosh

19. Noah23 - Blood

20. Extra Kool - Haunted Hill

21. Free Daps Feat. E-Turn - Monster Movie Part 1

22. Time - Vampire Mask

23. Yes Men - Early Halloween

24. Gajah - A Werewolf In LA

25. Lexington & Whatevski Feat. Cam The Wizzard - Bride Of Frankenstein

26. Nocando - Anne Rice

27. Delinquent Monastery - Halloween Queen 

28. Ruben Steiner & Ira Lee - Andy Warhol Vampire 

29. Nedarb Nagrom - Halloween 

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And if sequels suck, feel free to return to V1 (featuring tracks from Buck 65, Mega-Ran, Nolto, Equipto, Ecid, Zion I, and many more) HERE. 

Akil (of Oldominion) - Storybox All Stars (Unreleased)

 

Akil wasn't the most obscure member of the OD, but he was certainly not the most famous. With little known credits to his name, most indie rap fans probably just mistook him for the Jurassic 5 rapper whenever they saw him. Luckily, Akil's shelved rough album, "Storybox All Stars," has been recently uncovered for our listening pleasure! 

Akil was mainly a spoken word artist (originally from the Southwest I believe.) Unlike many spoken word artists, however, he knew how to incorporate his lyrics with the beats, as made evident by "Storybox All Stars." The album was produced in full by Smoke M2D6 and the atmospheric soundscapes really fit Akil's style well. The album was set to drop at some point but never did due to the hustle and bustle of life (no album art.) It's now finally out in the world however thanks to a lowkey Smoke drop. 

Just FYI, I omitted two of the tracks included as there is a chance this may officially drop sometime in the distant future. Enjoy!

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Iame - Rare And Unreleased (2009)

 

Today's post comes from Sandpeople's and Oldominion's Iame (aka Wool See) and his elusive "Rare And Unreleased" from 2009.

"Rare And Unreleased" was a physical-only exclusive made by Iame and handed out to "street members" who helped promote shows at his tour stops at the time. The CDR consists of an exclusive remix and six tracks hand-plucked from various projects. Nothing extremely special, but cool to have for collectors.

This is a UGDN rip, done by, I believe, the great DonLuc. Enjoy!

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JFK (of Grayskul/Oldominion) - Anchor Head Chronicles (2000)

 

We have a treat for you today - JFK's "Anchor Head Chronicles" from 2000! 

I had heard "legends" of the elusive "Anchor Head Chronicles" from my buddy, and OD encyclopedia, Donluc for years now. But I always assumed that if he couldn't have gotten his hands it, I had no chance. I eventually forgot about it until a couple months ago two separate people I've bought stuff from in the past brought up that they had a copy that they'd sell! 

I was of course pleasantly surprised, to say the least, that after all this time, not one but two people had a grail. Then some roadblocks came into the picture. The first guy's daughter cleaned out his car (where the cdr was) and accidentally left the jewel case in the rain, causing the inserts to be thrown away. He thought he still had the cdr, but didn't know where it was. Luckily, the second guy had a sealed copy(!) that we successfully bought. Unfortunately, upon trying to rip it...the data was not recognized (by laptop, cd player, car player, anything.) This was likely the result of the poor quality cdr and/or the fact that a strong adhesive disc sticker was used at the disc art. I told the guy who I bought it from who then tried playing his personal copy - which had the same problem. From there, after a couple weeks of waiting, I finally heard back from the first guy who had found the cdr and who said he was pretty sure his copy played fairly well (despite lots of marks.) So, somehow, I managed to find a copy with mint inserts + a disc that didn't work and a copy with no inserts + a disc that did work! 

When I got the second disc, however, I could only rip part of the cdr. The first two tracks didn't work for me. That's when I sent it off to ripping expert Dimxsk who successfully got the first two tracks to work!! So we have a full rip for you today.

So what exactly is this thing? Well, it's not really a full album. There's only 9 tracks. And it's not really even a solo project. JFK is on each track, but it comes across more as a promo release for Oldominion as a crew. The release date is 2000 and the insert promotes Oldominion's "One" (which also dropped in 2000,) so I'm guessing that this was some sort of very limited run, likely tour-only, promo release that JFK put together. The "label" is Veastvick, which is the name that Onry used for his debut "Knightingale" release. Unlike the official version of "Knightingale," however, this is not a professionally pressed CD. It's a cdr of lesser quality than the old MP3.com cdrs that Oldominion members used to sell. But it did come shrinkwrapped lol! 

Anyhow, seven of the nine tracks are actually available elsewhere: "Hendrix" and "No Pain" are available on Oldominion's "Vol. 1," "Nnetwerk" and "Just Ain't Got It" are available on Oldominion's "Vol. 2," "Train of Thought" is available on Oldominion's "Vol. 3," and "Screaming In The Wind" is available on Oldominion's "One." "Replacement Killers" is available on Oldominion's "Book of Fury" (and the crew's "Zero" release,) but this version has a slightly extended instrumental. 

Luckily, two of the tracks are, to my informed knowledge, exclusive to this release. And as fate would have it, they're not only the two best tracks on this thing, but also two of the best tracks I've heard from JFK. The first is "The Kite," a solo track produced by Zebulon Dak. The second is called "Paracite Eve," produced by Onry Ozzborn and featuring Onry and Snafu alongside JFK. Both tracks are melancholic introspective tracks and really display the skill of these guys even at the early stage. It's a shame the tracks never got a proper release.

So without further yada, here is the rip. It is rough at times due to the cdr quality (plus scratches,) but it's more than listenable. Enjoy!

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New Music: Wool See - Podcasts Vol. 1

 

As my Northwest is currently on fire, I thought I'd highlight some fire from the Northwest (#bars.) Wool See is the one man band moniker of Iame of the Sandpeople/Oldominion (originally from Oregon, now residing on the East Coast.) Over the past weeks, Iame has been releasing tracks on his Youtube page that serve concurrently both as songs and as mini-"podcasts." This six-song release, which is currently free to download on his Bandcamp page, collects the first set of these tracks. 

Ever since covid broke in the U.S. this year, Iame's Twitter page has been a great source of both information and coping in relation to the crazy 2020 that we've had thus far - from the coronavirus, to the racial unrest, to the upcoming presidential election cycle, to the fires that have me wiping my eyes. His "podcast" series builds upon this by transforming his tweets, and greater overall thoughts, into (self-produced) songs. 

For those who shy away from the preachy (which includes myself generally,) no need to fear here. Iame approaches the topics with a sense of humility and even humor at times, while still making sure that lasting political and social points are made. And the songs hold up as songs as well, with some infectious electronic glitchy production and some pretty catchy hooks - which is all super impressive considering that a couple of these joints are 100% freestyled off the top! 

For those looking for another friendly voice in a weird era, check out "Podcasts Vol. 1" (again, available for free download) HERE. 

New Music: Comunalien - Live At TOMFEST 1997

 

About a month ago, Nickels Hawkeye dropped a jewel on us with a recorded live performance dating back to 1997 from the legendary Comunalien! 

Comunalien consisted of producer Nickels Hawkeye and rapper Rochester A.P. Rochester is perhaps best known for naming the Northwest collective, of which both he and Nickels were/are a part of, "Oldominion." He tragically passed in 1999, shortly before the collective released their album "One." The Comunalien duo never released anything official while Rochester was alive, but various tapes and cdrs kept their name out there, and various albums, post-Rochester's death, have dropped.

This live production was recorded in 1997 at TOMFEST, a Christian music festival (many members of the early versions of Oldominion identified as Christians to some degree - Comunalien was, for all intents and purposes, a "Christian group.") The sound quality here is very rough - the source is likely some bootleg that one of Nickel's buddies recorded from backstage. Even so, for big fans of Rochester, Comunalien, and Oldominion - it's a treat to hear him in a live setting such as this. We're given various (soon to be) album cuts, interactions with the crowd, and a couple things I haven't heard elsewhere before, which is always a bonus! 

Peep "Live At TOMFEST 1997" HERE. 

Xmas Post (Shape Shifters, Onry Ozzborn, Ira Lee)!

From both of us to...both of you - Happy Holladaze from UGF! To celebrate, we're sharing Sixtoo's and Cee!!!!!!!!'s classic "Jesus Christ Never Existed" - because it's true. Jk jk jk. We've got a triple share for ya'll today. 

First up is The Shape Shifters' first known release from 1993 - "Shape Shifters..." Note that this is the Shifters before Existereo, before Circus, before Awol One! According to the notes, the members were Relm, Smooth ER (who's that?,) Gary Gnu, Perk, and Mek. We're talking OG here folks. I have two versions of this (actually 3,) each slightly different. Enjoy this version today! 

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Next up is a weird little thing from Onry Ozzborn - noted as "Archives" on the cassette. The product is an early version of Onry's "Owleye" (which was a compilation of sorts itself.) It has most of the tracks from that project mixed in with a track from "Zero" and a couple unknown instrumentals. I believe this also went as "8 Track Oddities" at one point. #NorthWest

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Last up is from our friends up north - the great Reality and D-Mic! If you've never heard of Reality or D-Mic before...you must not be a real Hip Hop fan. Or perhaps it's because you have never heard the one copy of this beat up cassette that they recorded decades ago and never released to the public. Chances are, you probably have heard of Reality and D-Mic though, just under their more contemporary names, Ira Lee and DJ Kutdown, respectively. This was a little demo they recorded way back when, consisting of four tracks (well, technically two, but you'll see.) They played it for friends but it never got an official release or anything and only exists on this cassette procured from Kutdown himself...until now.

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Well, there you have it folks, enjoy the holidays! Check back on Friday for our last "Best of the Decade" posts - Top Albums of the Decade!