Music of the Season

full of eastern promise.

i grew up watching this. the use of light had a huge effect, still does

straight up big up kexp

features "bop hard" or "pilgrim marketing plan rebuttal take 7" the bonus track only on the digital download version of black up.

Pitchfork redeem themselves and O extrapolates a mixtape from Palaceer Lazaro of eleven years ago.

(Above art by Dumb Eyes. The Arabic Writing is the name of Shabazz Palaces first EP which everyone thinks is self-titled. But actually it's Eagles Soar, Oil Flows which is what the Arabic words mean.)

I hereby forgive pitchfork approximately 5 years of their prior transgressions due to their new piece on Ish's musical faves. They have this series called "5, 10, 15, 20" where they get an artist to talk about what they were listening to at 5 yearly intervals up to the present. You can read the article by clicking:

5-10-15-20: Shabazz Palaces (Pitchfork)

But don't click it yet. I just want to say that this piece was stupendous and tremendous. It also reminded me of all the good music I've been introduced to through Ish. So I checked out our old email exchange from 2000 where we talked serious shop for a few letters, exchanging our current musical input. Here's a list of all his mentions interspersed with some links to the music concerned. OK so now you can go and read the Pitchfork piece.

* * *

Good eh? Shows the wisdom in controlling your child's TV watching time. OK now check out more of what the Palaceer was digging aged 30, having just recorded The Ten Commercial (aka Ishmael Since 1999).

Duke Ellington - Sentimental Mood



Sun Ra - We Travel the Spaceways LP, Nubians of Plutonia LP (he also recommended the biography by Szwed, which I subsequently read. Very inspiring to see Sun Ra's singular vision and unrelenting dedication to his music despite being too far ahead of his time for most people to get it.)



Sly and the Family Stone - Small Talk LP (he was digging Freddie Stone's guitar playing)



Curtis Mayfield - Live! at the Bitter End LP (said how Jimi and Bob were both influenced by him)



Bob Marley - Bad Card, Zimbabwe



Wayne/wendy Carlos's - Score to Clockwork Orange LP



Bjork - Homogenic LP (especially "unravel", "all is full of love", "hunter")



Blur - Blur LP (for tracks "death of a party", "strange news from another star", "essex dogs)
Blur - 13 LP (especially track: Trimm Tab, mentioned their great drummer)

Songs of the Universal Week

This week's sounds come from an as yet-unsigned, spectral presence in music over the past few years. The artist calling himself "Y. Misdaq aka Yoshi" has released some startlingly original LPs over the past few years, not to mention a hilarious and touching novel and some fresh short films including this classic. He even went to Libya recently in his guise a videographer for Democracy Now! and sent back two choice reports on the Libyan resistance's shoestring media effort and the plight of African & South Asian migrant workers stuck at the borders unable to escape respectively. It's safe to say that due by mixing of his sensitive artistic style with factual reportage, he's created a whole new style of his own as the reports illustrate. He's also the guest Ishmaelite who reviewed the Shabazz Palaces NYC gig above. His new LP is entitled Maghreb Isha and Space and sounds like nothing else out there. Below is his self-produced video for the first single, and also a link to a 3 part piece (Dream Suite) of which the last third is my favourite. It was at the Shabazz Palaces gig that he had a chance to say whatsup to Palaceer Lazaro, and give him a copy of his new album. Ish later wrote back with the thumbs up, saying how much he was digging it.

Y.Misdaq aka Yoshi - Dawn Song (off the LP Maghreb Isha and Space, 2010, Nefisa UK)

Yoshi - Dawn Song from Nefisa UK on Vimeo.

Y.Misdaq aka Yoshi - Dream Suite: i) Toki / The Untangling ii) Song of Delicious Affirmation iii) Returning Dream about Eternity / The Stars in Space (off the LP Maghreb Isha and Space, 2010, Nefisa UK)

the last poets

A new track is on GvB but listen to this if you think the closing chant's genealogy is to be traced baclk no further than reachin:



and this which you'll find familiar if you've heard barksdale corners or been to the shows:



From a recent interview:

THEE: Describe your first experience with the Last Poets?

PL: Jalil is my favorite rapper of all time. I was with my pops in Philly driving in the Duster when WPFW played "E Pluribus Unum" and my little mind was blown. Jalil remains the pinnacle of wordsmanship. The last poet.

this here blog gives more away about the link:

http://milkcratebreaks.blogspot.com/2008/12/last-poets-jazzoetry.html

but there are many more. remember in "3 slims dynamite" when butter rapped "i peel with omar, jalil, and sulaiman"

also check the excellent writing of kalamu ya salaam on the breath of life blog (which did that excellent cherrywine piece years ago) introducing them here.

the moral of the blog entry is listen to the last poets if it's the last thing you do.

Weekly Love

Thanks to Stacia for reminding me of the sunrising brilliance of Ish's classic collab with Seattle's Hardison (pictured above) from the Cherrywine era. Check out Hardison's smashing new album Alphanus Rolandri, available as a free download on their website. If you're feeling Slower Than Love, why not pick it up for like a dollar (79 pence in the UK) on itunes.



Hardison & Ish - Slower Than Love (off the LP Time and Cash, Dig Records, 2006)

Tune of the Week

Gonjasufi - Duet (off the LP A Sufi and a Killer, Warp Records, 2010)

This is I think a fan-made video for one of my favourite Gonjasufi tracks. Gonjasufi is actually Ish's younger cousin and in this interview he mentions how Ish gave him advice and books when he was was growing up. There's a more substantial interview here thanks to The Quietus where he talks more about Sufism, living in America, and how he approaches his art.



watch out for a write-up by a mystery guest ishmaelite on the recent shabazz palaces show in NYC. coming soon...

Weekly Music

Burial - Unite (white label, 2007)

Weekly Jazzoetry

The Last Poets - Jazzoetry (form the LP Jazzoetry, 1976)



Check out the Milkcrate Breaks website which mentions the influence of Last Poets on Ish's work with Digable. Of course it continues big time with SP; I'll write more about that soon.

Song of the Week

D'eon - Kill a Man With a Joystick in Your Hand (Palinopsia EP, 2010, Hippos in Tanks Records)

WEEKLY TUNE

This is the only footage I've ever seen of Graffiti that also has Jeru on it. He rips it up, and Doodlebug also comes off powerfully here too. Live at the Apollo, summer of 95! They went out in to the field, and rapped to these people...

Digable Planets f/ Jeru the Damaja - Graffiti (Noise) (Live at the Apollo, June 22nd 1995)

Weekly Song Time

I was recently interviewed about this blog for a Shabazz Palaces feature in City Arts magazine and through the writer Jonathan Zwickel found out that Ish was listening to nothing but P-Funk (and Native Tongues) when making the Digable Planets record. So what's Bernie Worrel up to now? He's still in the zone: Check out his intro to this smooth track with Laswell on bass.

Method of Defiance - Cosmic Slop (Nihon tour, live in Japan, 2009)

rhyme of the week (it's a london ting)

The Bug f/ Killa P & Flowdan - Skeng (off London Zoo LP, 2008, Ninja Tune Records)

worse
shot inn aface make you send for de nurse
nurse
doctor can't fix you send for de hearse
hearse

week in music

Dedicated - on the b-side to Dial 7: Axioms of Creamy Spies (Pendulum EMI, 1995)

The memory of a 16-year old me going into a record shop specialising in dance music, in the North Laines Brighton and being sold this record is sacred. Lyrically, a fond farewell.

Weekly Tune

Directed by one of the best new directors Kahlil Joseph, who also did the Belhaven Meridian video. You've all heard and loved this tune (what a voice) but perhaps there are some who haven't seen the beautiful video:

Aloe Blacc - I Need a Dollar (2010, Stones Throw Recordings)

Weekly Music

This one's for the hardcore Digable nostalgists. Not exactly an under-appreciated song, but it's cool for Ish's verse which I've heard nowhere else plus Ladybug Mecca also switches it up, giving her verse from Black Ego, while they bring is the chorus form Blowing Down to mix it up further.

Music for the Weekend

Here at Ishmaelites we post a song every week or so that fans of Shabazz might dig. The only thing they have in common is a marked originality, or startlingness. Sometimes they're even vintage Digable performances. This week we hip you to Claire Boucher aka Grimes, a 22-year old artist from Halifax, Canada. Despite making music for only 4 years this lady has something special. A Shabazz connection is that Grimes sounds like she's a Cocteau Twins fan. I remember coming across an old issue 1991 of Rolling Stone when I was like 16 and it had a sidebar on up and coming college bands. Sure enough there was Digable Planets (v.1) there. It said that Butterfly was "a fan of the ethereal Cocteau Twins", and that his group had "just signed a publishing deal". Being a true fan(atic) I immediately went out and bought The Pink Opaque... almost the first non-hiphop album I'd ever purchased. 'my little mind was blown' to say the least, and I became a committed Cocteau connoisseur. Anyway if you find Grimes as nice as I do, there's also a nice mini-documentary on her by Emily Kai Bock called Human Heart, which gives a nice glimpse into her world. So check out Grimes and let's hope she gets her publishing deal soon...

Grimes - Devon (unsigned, 2010)



If you have some nice songs you think could feature on the weekly music post, let me know by commenting below. PS I know we said the next update would be the new Shabazz track, but we'll give you that next time. Promise.

Weekly Music

Forest Swords - Rattling Cage (No Pain in Pop, 2010)

London keeps on bringin it...

Music's IN your Heart

Toumani Diabate - live at Metrotech, Brooklyn NY (July 19th, 2007)