Fresh Selects » Weekend Beats

WEEKEND BEATS #6: Hi-Res – 1080 Beats

Kenny Fresh — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 18:39:56 +0000

Bringing the Weekend Beats back from a brief hiatus with the latest project from a rising Portland talent, Hi-Res. This batch, entitled 1080 Beats, picks up where last year’s Sittin’ Up In My Room left off with more laidback but still headnoddin & bump-worthy beats. I selected a few tracks from SUIR for both the Loose Joints mix and the FSR #1 podcast, so it was only right I bring you guys the next installment.

Look out for much more from Hi-Res coming in the near future – including a collaboration EP with DaveNotti entitled The New Chill. More on that one coming soon. In the meantime, preview three highlights from 1080 below before getting the full download below. Leave a comment and lemme know what you think.

Also, huge thanks to Craig Sprecher of Adventures In Space for providing the artwork.

Hi-Res “He’lyin”

Hi-Res “Funkshuns”

Epp & DaveNotti “Thrilla (Hi-Res Remix)”

DOWNLOAD: Hi-Res – 1080 Beats

ALSO SEE: Hi-Res – Sittin’ Up In My Room

STAY TUNED: DaveNotti x Hi-Res – The New Chill coming soon

WEEKEND BEATS #5: Hawthorne Headhunters present… Proh Mic – Nice 2 Beat U Vol. 3

Kenny Fresh — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 22:43:47 +0000

For this weekend’s selection, I’ve got a full-lenght beat CD from the homie Proh Mic. The Seattle born, L.A.-based producer/MC is currently making moves as one third of the group, Hawthorne Headhunters, alongside collaborators Black Spade and Ced No. To hold you over till their debut EP drops later this spring, he’s offered up a re-posting of an older beat CD, Nice 2 Beat U Vol. 3.

In Proh’s own words, “I started releasing these beat tapes about a year or so ago. They’re ‘throw away’ beats. Ironically I always end up selling a bunch of beats off these. LOL. I posted this vol a few months ago, thought I’d repost it. Im posting Vol 4 next Fri.” I guess one man’s throwaway’s are someone else’s weekend soundtrack.

I’ll have much more for from the Hawthorne Headhunters coming soon, including a full-length exclusive group mixtape coming in the next month or so. Included after the jump is a video of Proh & Black Spade performing some songs live at a HVW8 Gallery barbeque in L.A. Get up on it.

Proh Mic “I Got Over (Love)”

Proh Mic “Broke, Broken”

Proh Mic “I’m That Dude”

DOWNLOAD: Proh Mic – Nice 2 Beat U Vol. 3

SUPPORT: Hawthorne Headhunters’ debut EP coming soon

BONUS VIDEO: Proh Mic & Black Spade live @ the HVW8 Bar BQ

WEEKEND BEATS #4: HVW8 & Master Blazter present… J1 – Attack Of The Deer

Kenny Fresh — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 11:53:58 +0000

Back with another edition of the Weekend Beats series – this time from producer/drummer/DJ, J1. Originally hailing from Cleveland, Ohio but now based out of L.A., J1 is best known as being the co-resident DJ of the TripBoogie party there, as well as the drummer for TaRaach & Blu’s C.R.A.C. project. Most recently, J has being making waves as one-third of the group, Master Blazter, alongside dam-funk and Computer Jay.

As for J1′s solo work, he’s just put up a free download beat CD, entitled Attack Of The Deer. The collection consists of 14 rough beats “straight from the MPC,” that range everywhere from laidback jazz loops & grooves to raw drum breaks. To give you a taste, I’ve streamed three highlights from the set that you can check out before downloading the full .zip below.

As a bonus, I’ve also included a video of a recent Master Blazter jam session, recorded live at the HVW8 Galley in L.A. Be on the lookout for much more from the trio coming soon.

Credit due to both HVW8 and BlackNBling for debuting the beat CD earlier this week.
Photo courtesy of kyLA of BlackNBling.

J1 “Off-Top”

J1 “Think About It”

J1 “Bongo”

DOWNLOAD: J1 – Attack Of The Deer

BONUS VIDEO: Master Blazter (J1, dam-funk & Computer Jay) Live @ The HVW8 Gallery

WEEKEND BEATS #3: Will Sessions – Leaks Beat Tape (feat. Buff1 & Asylum 7)

Kenny Fresh — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 11:14:18 +0000

For the third installment in the Weekend Beats series, I decided to switch it up a little bit and introduce some funk into the mix with a “beat CD” from Will Sessions. They’re a Detroit-based band formed by established session musician, Sam Beaubien, who is the key arranger and also trumpet & keys in the group. They’ve already played on songs by artists like Buff1 (“Pretty Baby”), 14KT (“Less Than Enough”) and Black Milk (“Give The Drummer Some”), and have recently recorded parts for upcoming albums from both Slum Village (Barak) and Mayer Hawthorne (Stones Throw). They’ve also just released their debut album, Many Faces, and have also been playing shows around the Detroit area with MonicaBlaire (who just recently joined PPP’s live line-up) on vocals.

So as an introduction to the beatheads and funk fans alike, Sam sent me an exclusive batch of beats & demos to spread around. The batch is about 1/3 hip-hop beats & loops, 1/3 covers of dusty funk 45’s and 1/3 jazzy jam sessions. Also included are two vocal tracks, with appearances from frequent collaborators, Buff1 and Asylum 7.

You can download the beat tape below or listen to some selected streams beforehand. For further insight on the tracks, stick around after the jump for some track-by-track commentary/liner notes from Mr. Beaubien himself. And for even more on Will Sessions, be sure to check out Sam’s featured interview with the good people over at Michigan Hip Hop from earlier this month, as well as this video of the group recording with Black Milk for the upcoming Slum Village album.

Will Sessions “Fiend”

Will Sessions “(No Name)”

Will Sessions “MOVE!” (feat. Buff1)

DOWNLOAD: Will Sessions – Leaks Beat Tape

SUPPORT: Will Sessions – Many Faces available now

LINER NOTES: Commentary by Sam Beaubien after the jump

1. No Name (instrumental) hip-hop:
This is just a beat I made about 2 months ago. I made the beat on an MPC and then added Bryan on drums. Not sure what I will do with it yet…..

2. Listen (feat. Asylum7) hip-hop:
I made this track about 3 years ago. I had been playing the keys for a few weeks and this is the first song we recorded as Will Sessions. Everything was done in one take. No Loops, chops, punchins (except the wind chimes and vocals)

3. Fiend (instrumental) hip-hop:
One of the first beats I made on the MPC about 2 years ago. Didnt add anything to this. Always wanted a MC on this, but never got around to recording anything.

4. Move (feat. Buff1) hip-hop:
This is actually the first beat I ever made, and the first track I recorded an MC on. Its real simple and I didnt chop it up much. I sent this with a few other tracks to Buff1 through myspace. He ended up liking this joint the most and we recorded it a few days later.

5. Jazz demo:
This is a mix of some Jazz that we recorded in my basement a few years ago. I think there is “Miles Stones,” “Maiden Voyage,” and “Cantaloupe Island.”

6. Funky Mirage (funk)
This is a cover of The Meters “Funky Miracle.” This arrangment is actually on a funk 45, but I’m not sure who did it. Recently, we got together in my basement one night and recorded covers of 10 funk 45’s in about 1 hour 30mins. Mostly done in one or two takes. It was a productive night!

7. Jam Sessions (hip hop covers, sample sources, originals, jams….)
This is just a bunch of stuff from some our sunday afternoon jams we have in my basement. These are all from my minidisc player.

8. You Got It All (funk)
Another funk 45 cover.

9. It Ain’t Fair But Its Fun (funk)
Funk 45 cover.

WEEKEND BEATS #2: devonwho – WaVES

Kenny Fresh — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 10:47:39 +0000

For the second installment of my new Weekend Beats series, I’ve got the latest from the homie (and possibly the #1 FS commenter), devonwho. This latest offering, the WaVES EP, mainly consists of some recent highlights from his ever-changing MySpace player, but he also threw in some all new exclusives as well. Included in the EP are five instrumentals, a track each with both singer/Fresh Kept Secret gradute, Suzi Analogue (who also did the artwork), and also one of the nicest MC’s currently residing in Portland, Theory Hazit, and also a white label remix of Frank N Dank’s “Shut It Down.”

So thats about it – let the WaVES be your weekend soundtrack and lemme know what you think. Also, be on the lookout for much more from devonwho coming soon to both right here and elsewhere. You can check out three streams from the project before you get the free download below.

UPDATE: And just added – after the jump are some videos of Devon’s live set at Othello & Theory Hazit’s night @ Biddy McGraw’s here in Portland. The set includes Devon playing some of his own beats along side tracks from 14KT, Hi-Res, Oddisee and Dibia$e.

devonwho “Peppajack”

devonwho “Finder”

devonwho “About You Redux (dev’s LODB Mix)” (feat. Suzi Analogue)

DOWNLOAD: devonwho – WaVES EP

WEEKEND BEATS #1: Daru – Spirit Drumz Pt’s 1 & 2

BONUS VIDEO: devonwho live videos after the jump

WEEKEND BEATS: Daru – Spirit Drumz Pt. 1 & 2

Kenny Fresh — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 21:54:25 +0000

New section on the site starting this week, simply titled Weekend Beats. Pretty self-explanatory – just something to bump both when you’re goin out on Friday & Saturday night, or just hanging out around the house/recovering on Sunday afternoon. Not to say that I’ll have one of these for you guys every weekend, but I’ll do my best.

Starting it off right, we have both an album preview and a free album download from the one and only, Daru. If you’ve been sleeping, Daru is an innovative, up-and-coming producer/live drummer who uses minimal equipment but always manages to maintain maximum quality. He’s put out an abundance of both free releases and retail albums, most notably collaborations with his sister, Rena (free download of that here), and singer, Reggie B. He’s also backed up acts like Black Milk, Kweli’s Idle Warship, Slum Village and others as their live drummer. He’s currently working on a highly anticipated project with singer and fellow band-member, AB, on an upcoming album, A.W.I.P. (you can preview that album here).

But most recently, Daru has released the second in his instrumental series, Spirit Drumz, which finds him taking spiritual/Gospel samples and chopping them into beats universally acceptable by beatheads & music heads of all faiths, like only he can. The first chapter of Spirit Drumz was a free download on Daru’s MySpace page, but this second part has been officially distributed by Believe Digital and is currently on sale at all major MP3 sites – so be sure to support that.

Below I’ve provided previews of 2 tracks from Spirit Drumz Pt. 2, the smooth intro “For You” and the bugged-out outro, “Order My Steps” – as well as a free download of the inspirational “Lean On Me” off of the same album. I’ve also got a link to download the full Spirit Drumz Chapter 1 album for those of you who might’ve missed it when it first dropped.

Daru “For You”

Daru “Order My Steps”