A Grumpy Old Man With A Beard

A Grumpy Old Man With A Beard Cloudcast #7

2018-01-25T19:57:00.001+13:00

Well here we are... 364 days since my last post. Let no man say it's been years since I've posted anything.

With a summer break cones the chance to work through some tunes that have been on heavy rotation over the summer - some old, most new - and put together a little mix.

Mix #7 includes many top tunes from 2017 for me: King Krule, Kendrick, Jay-Z, Jordan Rakei, Thes One & DJ Day, Murkage Dave, Rejjie Snow, and a bunch of others.

Have a listen below, holla for download.

New Music: Oddisee - 'Like Really'

2017-01-26T07:04:00.000+13:00

The ever-prolific Oddisee has another album on the horizon, with The Iceberg set to emerge on 24 February.

Odd is one of those artists that, in my humble opinion, just keeps getting better: a skilled MC and producer, he's able to more than do justice to his stellar studio work thanks to a cracking live show.

He tore down Neck Of The Woods in Auckland in late 2015, so it's good news that a new album and impending world tour means we might see him down this way in the near future.

No news on that yet, but for now you can get acquainted with 'Like Really', one of the early cuts from The Iceberg that is available to stream and/or download for free below:

The Iceberg by Oddisee

Mix Tape: FloFilz & Wun Two - 'Winterwalks'

2017-01-14T19:50:00.001+13:00

Us Southern Hemispherians are all smuggy smug right now, with summer (or some version of it) warming our necks and expanding our waistlines thanks to too many brews and BBQs.

But up North it's winter. Cold, cold winter.

A toasty mix tape from German representers FloFilz and Wun Two will add a rosy glow to those feeling the cold, though.

Winterwalks is a right nice little collection of beats: it's only 11-ish minutes long, but there's plenty of hazy, piano-tinged instrumental hip hop ditties packed to keep the home fires burning.

You can stream and/or download for free below:

whitewalks by flofilz & wun two

New Music: Kaytranada - 'Flippin On You' (TLC edit)

2017-01-07T08:46:00.002+13:00

Kaytranada pretty much smashed up 2016, dropping one of the best albums of the year (99.9%) and churning out remixes and edits at a rate of knots.

The crown prince of Montreal has definitely earned his status as a can't miss producer.

A beat from this man will definitely get me to listen, in the same way seeing Premier or Pete Rock in the liner notes used to back in ye olden times (and still does - no diss intended).

99.9% rightly sits on best of lists from all comers, but Kaytra has dropped off a few gems overnight from the lower key companion mix tape, 0.001% - including this little ripper, which flips TLC right nice.

You can stream or download 'Flippin On You' below, and stream or download 0.001% even further below:

New Music: Kate Tempest - 'Europe Is Lost'

2017-01-05T09:13:00.000+13:00

It seems a bit odd to have put together a 'best of' 2016 mix a few days back, and then leave off what's been, in my humble opinion, one of the best tracks of the year, hands down.

Kate Tempest's 'Europe Is Lost' is a scathing look at modern society, capturing the essence of the dark days that have been all to regular in 2016 and spitting it out with venom.

There's a real sense of hopelessness that permeates this cut, but Tempest isn't taking it sitting down. Make no mistake, she's pointing out the wrongs of the world to help shake out the apathy.

It's heavy, but essential, listening. Check it below.

New Music: Syd (The Internet) - 'Amazing'

2017-01-03T07:34:00.000+13:00

It seemed like 2015 was the year of The Internet, with enigmatic front woman Syd and her crew taking all comers with low slung bombs like the sublime 'Girl'.

But while there was no Internet album to follow up in 2016, Syd didn't rest on her laurels, dropping a killer cut that's aptly named 'Amazing'.

One of my favourite cuts from this year, 'Amazing' sees Syd link with British producer Dornik (a man wonderfully tagged as the "Shuggie Otis of Croydon") who cooks up a soulful stunner.

These two are a good combination, alright. Check for yourself:

New Music: Miles Davis & Robert Glasper - 'Silence Is The Way' (Feat. Laura Mvula)

2017-01-02T07:43:00.000+13:00

Modern day jazz man Robert Glasper has turned out some right nice albums over the last few years, but it's hard to go past Everything's Beautiful, one of a couple of LPs that he dropped in 2016.

Everything's Beautiful sees Glasper set his sights on the one and only Miles Davis, calling in a talented crew to help him honour the great man.

There's plenty of goodness throughout the album, but the one track that's had me transfixed - true story - is 'Silence Is The Way'.

This is one of those tunes that you put on repeat, and don't think twice about keeping it rolling for a good three of four hours. True story in my case.

Laura Mvula on vocals puts in a commanding performance, with vibes for days from Glasper and co. Check it below:

Video: Jordan Rakei - 'Rooftop'

2017-01-01T08:31:00.000+13:00

London-based, Australian-bred soul man Jordan Rakei's Cloak was one of my most played albums in 2016, but while there's plenty of quality cuts throughout it was 'Rooftop' that originally hooked me.

Backed by a sparse backing track which gives Rakei's vocals some space to shine, 'Rooftop' is a stellar piece of soul.

And the video for the track tops it off: a wonderfully executed boy-meets-girl tale which ends in tears. Maybe hold off watching this one if you're feeling a bit fragile.

A Grumpy Old Man With A Beard Cloudcast #6 - Best Of 2016

2016-12-31T00:23:00.000+13:00

It's been a while since I've knocked out a mix. Almost a year in fact. Shit, it's been almost eight months since I've even posted on here.

I blame a tumultuous year in middle management (girk!), kids that don't sleep, blah blah blah. First world problems, basically.

During that time a couple of people have asked where the posts have gone, and asked when or if they'll be coming back, which is flattering. It would be nice to say "I'll post every week now!" That's not likely, but who knows.

The last few months have seen so much quality - and I really do mean quality - music released that I might have to stop being so middle aged and actually write something that's not work related.

Given the last mix was in January 2016, this basically makes this mix a 'best of' for the year that's been.

It covers a handful of the many tunes that have been floating my boat over the last 51 weeks. I'm always a little loathe to do an end of year mix mind you; I fret about what I've missed (where are you Frank Ocean? De La, you out there? Any one seen Skepta? Kate Tempest, perhaps?).

But in the interests of no longer hiding behind excuses, and with a lengthy Christmas break on the go, here we have some of my favs from this most recent trip around the sun.

Sixteen cuts in all: a gem from Jordan Rakei for an entree; some Tribe (of course); Kaytranda; Solange; Anderson.Paak; Omar; Common; Pusha T; and a fuckin' stormer from Yussef Kamaal to end it all.

They might not all be 2016 calendar year - I know some of you might be prone to a bit of anorak behaviour, so this is my dislaimer - but they've been in my ears this year, so they're my best of 2016. Enjoy.

New Music: Action Bronson - 'Mr 2 Face' (Feat. Jah Tiger & Meyhem Lauren)

2016-04-13T08:05:00.001+12:00

After giving Kiwi fans a taste of some new music at Auckland City Limits last month, Action Bronson has done the decent thing and liberated 'Mr 2 Face'.

Set to feature on Bam Bam's upcoming Blue Chips 7000 mix tape, 'Mr 2 Face' is built around a laid back guitar loop with heavy island vibes provided by Jah Tiger and rappity raps by Bronson's buddy Meyhem Lauren.

You can stream 'Mr 2 Face' below, and download when Blue Chips 7000 drops:

In keeping with the Jamaican theme of 'Mr 2 Face', the latest episode of Bronson's cult classic food TV show, 'Fuck That's Delicious', is a Caribbean special. Check the trailer below:

Mix Tape: Manuel Bundy - Side 1 Side 2

2016-03-22T21:52:00.000+13:00

A mix tape from the master Manuel Bundy is a rare treat.

Sure, there have been some rippers over the years, with a handful of Turnaround selections and a mix for Remix magazine (I think?) getting plenty o'spins in times gone by.

But a new mix? That's equivalent to hen's teeth (at least as far as I know) - and worthy of an equally rare post on this site, no doubt.

Mister Bundy's Souncloud is home to just that: a two part mix which I'll call 'Side 1 Side 2' for lack of any other name, with 90 minutes of soulful goodness.

Kendrick, Anderson.Paak, Chance The Rapper, Erykah Badu, Madlib and Freddie Gibbs... tunes for days. And you can stream and/or download to your heart's content below. Get in.

Update:
Straight from the Man(uel) - dad joke - himself: "I called them side 1 and 2 cos I record them onto cassette for car stereo. Hence the 45 ish mins each." Big up all tape decks in cars!

A couple of the top tunes from each mix below too, just 'cos:

Mix: A Grumpy Old Man With A Beard #5 - January 2016

2016-01-08T11:55:00.000+13:00

New mix time ya'll. Number five in the series features beats and pieces from the likes of Erykah Badu and Andre 3000, Big K.R.I.T., Mac Miller & Little Dragon, Eastern Bloc, APSD, Team Dynamite and FloFilz.

Along with the new new, I've thrown in with old favourites from Floating Points, Oddisee, Andrew Ashong and Hit-Boy, and even older favourites from Luke Vibert and Dunn Pearson Jr.

Hip hop, funk, soul, beats, the lot. Stream below, and check some of the individual cuts that feature below. Happy listening.

A Grumpy Old Man With A Beard - Cloudcast #5 (January 2016) by Duncan Master on Mixcloud

Never Again EP by Team Dynamite

New Music: Boca 45 x Louis Baker - 'Soul On Top'

2016-01-08T10:34:00.000+13:00

Continuing on with the funky catch up theme we started with the APSD post yesterday is 'Soul On Top', a little heat rock from Boca 45 and Louis Baker.

I'm not sure if Louis has graced this site before, but he's certainly been gracing my head phones for a minute.

Representing my home town of Wellington, New Zealand, Louis - who's a Red Bull Music Academy graduate, don't ya know - has soul for days.

Louis' vocal style combines a generous hat tip to some of the genre's greats, with a modern hip hop twist thrown in for good measure - a combination that fits like hand in glove with Bristol badman Boca 45's production on 'Soul On Top'.

The story of this international connection goes like this according to 45 Live Records, which released 'Soul On Top' last month:

"Louis was on tour in Europe in the spring of 2015 and played a show at The Sugar Factory in Amsterdam, whilst Boca was the guest DJ at the Wicked Jazz club night the same night. They end up meeting and get on brilliantly.

"The following day they reconvene on Red Light Radio, and having both been blown away with each others sets they decide that they must work together. A meeting of minds from different parts of the globe (UK-NZ) comes together in Amsterdam (that can't happen very often).

"Fast forward a couple of months and they start plotting 'Soul On Top' - Scott makes the music/beats whilst Louis plays guitar, sings and plays bass. The result being an immediate slice of hip hop soul which will work as well on the dance floor as it will on the radio."

This was released as a limited edition 7" backed up with 'Diegos Theme' - but the 300 units sold like hot cakes. But there's still some digital download action for you to get in on - stream and purchase below:

Soul On Top by Boca 45

New Music: APSD - Digital Dust LP

2016-01-07T11:29:00.002+13:00

Well shit, hasn't that been a long break between drinks?

Fair to say there's been a fair bit of right nice music released since I posted last, and equally fair to say that I'm not going to try to catch up, bar a few of the really top quality cuts.

And if we're talking top quality cuts, let's get on the big bird and head to Melbourne to start the year off right.

For it's in Melbourne that we'll find the double headed beat dragon that is APSD, - A.K.A. Amin Payne and Sean Deans - the masters of all things dipped in the various hues of funk.

APSD sees Sean and Amin combine a shared loved of synth-funk, boogie, soul and hip hop into Digital Dust, a long player that's been in the works for a few years and is hot like fire.

Hot Shot Sounds have provided an avenue for APSD to share their handiwork - which includes guest spots from the likes of Dallas Tamaira (Fat Freddy's Drop), Miles Bonny, Sean's equally talented sister Julia Deans, and a rather nice MC by the name of Cazeaux OSLO - with the masses.

There's a nice mix of tempos and styles here, but Digital Dust is united by it's unerring commitment to the funk - so if you have any sort of soul in your step, this is well, well worth a spin and purchase.

You can check some of my favourite cuts below, or buy Digital Dust for a very reasonable price through Bandcamp.

Digital Dust by APSD

Digital Dust by APSD

Digital Dust by APSD

Video: Team Dynamite - 'Cosmos Re-Up'

2015-10-29T12:10:00.001+13:00

Team Dynamite (who dropped a most excellent LP a while back, in case you slept) are back with some freshness for your Thursday. Result.

'Cosmos Re-Up' has got a nice interplanetary vibe, with producer Haz Beats laying down an uptempo beat with a little 4/4 flavour for Tony Teez and Lucky Lance to rappity rap over.

Check the new video (hot off the editing suite below), and/or stream or download the tune below below.

Team Dynamite - Cosmos ReUp by Team Dynamite

Mix: A Grumpy Old Man With A Beard #4 - October 2015

2015-10-18T14:13:00.000+13:00

New mix time! (I've given up trying to pretend it's monthly, but give me a day off from work with no kids to look after and a mix will happen).

A bunch of new and old tunes, plenty of hip hop, soul and beats from Dr Dre, The Game, Thundercat, DJ Premier, Pete Rock, TokiMonsta, Vanilla, The Internet, Kaytranada, Outkast & StarRo, Guts, Daniel Crawford, The Stepkids, Frameworks and The Average Rap Band.

Stream below, if I know you hit me for the DL.

A Grumpy Old Man With A Beard Cloudcast #4 (October 2015) by Duncan Master on Mixcloud

Origin by Vanilla

Mixtape Monday: Booboo - 'Turn It Up!'

2015-09-21T09:51:00.000+12:00

Early start this morning thanks to a combination of coughing young ones and Rugby World Cup anxiety.

But today's mix tape (and a strong double dose of coffee) is easing the tired vibes.

I'm not usually not that fussed if a mix is done on vinyl or digitally, but when it's a 7" only mix, well, that's a different story.

The sevens are slippery little suckers alright, so if anyone can lay down a two hour mix without a train wreck in site, they're all good in my book.

And that's where the one like Booboo - a tune fiend of the highest order - comes in with his latest mix, Turn It Up.

This mix is comprised of "soul, downbeat grooves, hip hop beats, brass, latin, afro and dusty funk. 100 minutes of strictly 7 inch vinyl, recorded live."

Lots of quality, strung together right nice. What could go wrong? Stream or download below, and check Soundcloud for the tracklisting.

Mix Tape: Skepta - The Tim Westwood Mix

2015-09-10T21:51:00.002+12:00

Tottenham badman Skepta hit the promo trail hard over the weekend, taking to the streets of NYC to give out physical copies of his latest mixtape.

As the name suggests, The Tim Westwood Mix sees our man in London, Tim Westwood - hip hop's version of marmite (love him or hate him) - take to the controls and shouting duties.

After a few false starts from other uploaders, King Tim has stepped up and unleashed said mixtape onto the interwebs. Good man.

You can expect 19 cuts of fire - including the ubiquitous 'Shut Down' - to keep you warm until Skepta's long-promised new LP, Konnichiwa, drops.

Stream or download below. Get amongst:

Video: Straight Outta Compton Trailer

2015-08-11T21:17:00.001+12:00

Hip hop films based on fact are normally pretty shit. Notorious, anyone?

But the more I see of the upcoming N.W.A. flick, Straight Outta Compton, the more I'm thinking it could break the cycle.

It would be a travesty if anything that covers one of the most controversial groups in hip hop history was Disneyfied.

It's hard to tell the whole story in a biopic. As the screenwriter for Compton, Jonathan Hermann, told Grantland, "the version of what really happened, maybe no one will ever know."

But the more I see of this film, the less I'm worried about too much sugar coating.

Take a great story, a good director (F. Gary Gray), add in some quality casting and you'll see why I'm starting to look forward to this.

Dre, Eazy, Ren, Yella...the actors are all dead ringers (seriously, Yella the real and Yella the actor share an uncanny likeness in looks and demeanour).

Funnily enough, the one choice I wasn't sure of based on looks alone was the actor picked to play Ice Cube. Turns out it's Cube's son. What do I know, right?

Noisey has premiered an 11ish minute featurette on Straight Outta Compton this week, and it's a great watch. Check it below, and look out for the real thing in theatres this week in the U.S. or in September in N.Z.

New Music: Average Rap Band - Stream Of Nonsenseness EP

2015-08-01T19:41:00.003+12:00

@Peace sadly disappeared into the mist earlier this year after dropping a string of quality releases, ending on top with the brilliant @Peace And The Plutonian Noise Symphony.

But just as @Peace seemed to morph from its predecessor of sorts, Home Brew, there's a new dawn on the horizon for a handful of @Peacers.

Words fullas Tom Scott and Lui Tuiasau and music man Dandruff Dicky have formed the Average Rap Band, and quickly dropped an un-average free EP, Stream Of Nonsenseness.

After a few spins it feels closer to Home Brew than @Peace to me: the cosmic, winding jams of Plutonian are more understated, but the vibes are still in effect.

The lyrics are also a return to more straight up rhyming, although the MCs (Scott in particular) remain as honest as they've always been. Here's there take on the Stream Of Nonsenseness:

From the derelict coffee shop waste land of Smith Street, Melbourne come two dyslexic track pant enthusiasts with nothing else going for them but a talent to make pointless words rhyme in succession and a knack for petty theft.

After their former critically acclaimed, award losing group @peace imploded upon itself due to a collective mental break down caused by a lack of government funding in the psychiatric sector, leading to a series of severe psychotic episodes, Lui and Tom were left alone with nothing but a dream and $12.70 in their Paypal account.

In a feeble attempt to regain their sanity they created The Average Rap Band. With utter naivety and a total lack of understanding of the current popular musical climate they decided the main focus of the group would be the lyrics. An obsolete medium that was made redundant in the late 1990s.

Working with bearded enigma Dandruff Dicky and poltergeist expert Hone St John they created a 6 track EP entitled 'Stream Of Nonsenseness'. which was made with a $42 budget.

You can check out some of my favourite cuts and/or download Stream Of Nonsenseness below:

Stream Of Nonsenseness by Average Rap Band

Stream Of Nonsenseness by Average Rap Band

Stream Of Nonsenseness by Average Rap Band

Mixtape Monday: Erykah Badu - 'Feel Better World!'

2015-07-27T06:38:00.000+12:00

The point of a Monday mix tape is to ease those of us with the misfortune (well, let's be thankful we have jobs I guess) of having to work in a Monday to Friday existence.
But Erykah Badu's latest mix is designed to do a lot more than that.

Sister Erykah took to Mixcloud to lift spirits after another turbulent week, States-side.

There's a whole lot of top shelf funk, soul and jazz for your listening pleasure, with Badu "carefully and lovingly [selecting] high frequency tones for the soul."

The instructions for this one are to listen to it "top to bottom". Good call. You can do that below:

FEEL BETTER, WORLD! ... LOVE, MS.BADU by Erykah She Ill Badu on Mixcloud

Under The Radar: Dennis Coffey - 'All Your Goodies Are Gone' (Feat. Mayer Hawthorne) [Shigeto Remix]

2015-07-26T13:22:00.000+12:00

Here's another tune that sailed under the radar for me...well, at least the title and artist anyway.

'All Your Goodies Are Gone' is one of those tunes that I've heard plenty of times, but never caught the name of until today.

Said tune is the work of three talented folks rolling out of Detroit: guitar god Dennis Coffey, soul man Mayer Hawthorn, and producer/remixer Shigeto.

As it turns out, this remix was part of a giveaway EP of re-works of a Coffey LP from four years ago, which seems to have disappeared into the internet wastelands.

But you can enjoy this bomb which is described as "somewhere in between garage house and the signature Motor City hip-hop sound characterized by innovators like Jay Dilla."

Stream or download below:

New Music: The Internet - 'Girl' (feat. Kaytranada)

2015-07-25T19:23:00.003+12:00

Sometimes, in the pursuit of posting the newest tunes of the day, I forget to post the tunes that are on heavy, heavy rotation.

Case in point? 'Girl', the smokingly soulful single from Ego Death, the smokingly soulful new LP from The Internet.

Syd Tha Kyd, Matt Martians and crew have smashed it out of the park with this one, bringing beat machine Kaytranada along for the ride.

The tune and the LP will be near the top of my best of list for 2015 (ha! Like I'd be motivated enough to do one of those).

Chances are you've heard 'Girl'. If you have, listen again. If you haven't, get amongst it. Butter. Ego Death is out now.

Mixtape Monday: DJ Nu-Mark - 'Nu Crack City'

2015-07-20T08:25:00.000+12:00

Turntable technician DJ Nu-Mark is on hand to brighten up your Monday, dropping a nice audio cut and paste job, Nu Crack City.

Uncle Nu says that the mix "incorporates some multi-tracks, unreleased skits with a garnish of new and old music. This mix is intended to make a long car ride breeze by in a flash. Enjoy!"

I wouldn't mind getting in a car and going for a long ride. But instead I'm at a desk looking at another working week. Joyous day. Time to put the head phones in and zone out.

If you like breaks, beats, and Barry White losing his shit at a sub-standard promoter (amongst many other interlude gems), this one's for you. You can stream or download Nu Crack City by DJ Nu-Mark below:

New Music: Kaytranada - 'Return Of The Mack [Edit]'

2015-07-17T21:14:00.000+12:00

What happens when the respective musical prides of Montreal, Detroit and...er... Leicester collide? This. This is what happens.

Canadian beat machine Kaytranada has dropped a super slick little edit overnight, combining the powers of J-Dilla and...er...Mark Morrison to create a bomb of a track.

Alright, so the original 'Return Of The Mack' is a guilty pleasure, but this re-rub breathes a whole new sense of life into Morrison's crooning.

Kaytranada's raided an old Dilla beat tape for the beat (which sounds like something Pete Rock's lace before too). He dropped this in the mix on the BBC recently, so decided to give it away. And it works, simple and plain.

You can download this edit below, and also check out another recent Kaytranada production (a cover of Hillary Duff? Sure, why not).