Fresh Selects » DaveNotti

FRESH KEPT SECRET: Dave Notti x Hi-Res – The New Chill

Kenny Fresh — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 16:22:57 +0000

I’ve got the FRESHclusive debut of some brand (ironically) new heat from the Portland hometeam – The New Chill by MC, DaveNotti, and producer, Hi-Res. The project is a free EP that not only finds common ground between both solo artists’ seperate, signature sounds but also breaks some new ground as well to forge… well – a New Chill. The name of the project, as Notti explains it, “branches off from all of us, not just Hi-Res and myself, but [our whole crew]… just wanting to be able to chill and be cool without any of the drama. We decided on The New Chill not because of a “new crew”… but rather a “new atmosphere” – change, if you will. Our new music styles are a testament to this change as we sound nothing of our former selves.”

Dave also went on to explain that the concept behind the EP wasn’t too complex – “just smooth beats from Tim [Res] meets NY grittyness! All the while showing versatility with the few concepts shown in the project. We wanted to give listeners something short but sweet.”

Also included in the .zip file, alone with the EP, are full artwork, liner notes, and even a bonus video of Notti & Hi-Res new chilling. “The video is just an example of how this album was made – weed, video games, friends. That’s it. We just wanted to show how we get down.”

You can preview three of the 6 tracks before downloading the full EP below. Also, be sure to leave some feedback – both the 5th and 8th people to leave a comment on this post will get an exclusive bonus download of an unreleased DaveNotti remix.

DaveNotti x Hi-Res “Nebula Connection”

DaveNotti x Hi-Res “Jealous”

DaveNotti x Hi-Res “The New Chill”

DOWNLOAD: DaveNotti x Hi-Res – The New Chill

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

FRESH SELECTS RADIO #1

Kenny Fresh — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 11:01:25 +0000

Today marks the debut of my new podcast, simply titled Fresh Selects Radio. Even though this is the first episode, it feels like the second in a way, because its more or less a follow-up to the Loose Joints mixtape I put together last fall. Just like that, its a collection showcasing both new and unreleased tracks from some of my favorite artists, some projects I’ll be working on in the near future, artists you should be on the lookout for, and more. I’ve also thrown in a few tracks that have been previously been posted on the site that you might’ve missed. But unlike the Loose Joints .zip, this podcast is one single track, which freed me up and allowed me to include some super-exclusives that I know I couldn’t post as individual downloads.

Originally, I was going to host the podcast like a radio show – but instead I decided to let the music speak for itself. If you feel like it sounds unfinished, I left the instrumental interludes I was going to talk over in the mix, so feel free to fill in the blanks yourself. However, if people get on some bullshit and rip some of the exclusives from the mix and re-post them as downloads on other sites, then next time out I’ll have to talk all over all the good shit – so just behave yourselves & act right and I’ll be able to keep bringing you the latest & greatest without any problems.

I might still write up some liner notes to go along with the tracks, but it might be a while. We’ll see what the feedback & response is like first (*cough*leaveacomment!*cough) and then take it from there. So yeah, lemme know what you think. In the meantime, the tracklisting with the artists’ MySpace links is listed here and then you can download or stream the mix below.

1. DaveNotti – FSR Intro (Thrilla Music Group)
2. Blu – Say Say (CD-R)
3. Finale feat. Invincible – The Waiting Game (prod. Khrysis) (iM/Universal)
4. Waajeed – Fat Bottom Girls (Bling47)
5. Konphlict – Socialize (prod. TaRaach) (Lovelution)
6. M64 (Ragen Fykes & Ohmega Watts) - Helium (prod. Ohmega Watts) (TBA)
7. Hi-Res – Yahhhhh (Pt. 2) (Thrilla Music Group)
8. G&D feat. MED & Rapper Big Pooh – Endure (prod. Georgia Anne Muldrow) (Mello Music Group)
9. MAGr (DistantStarr & Al Mighty) – Butterfly (prod. Hudson Mohawke) (TBA)
10. Ras_G & The Afrikan Space Program – Been A Min… (Brainfeeder)
11. Cubic Zirconia (Tiombe, Nick & Todd) – I Wanna Freebase You (TBA)
12. PPP feat. Coultrain & Karma Stewart – Rocket Science (prod. Waajeed) (Ubiquity)
13. Hawthorne Headhunters (Black Spade, I, CED & Proh Mic) feat. JimiJames & Coultrain – She Wanna (HVW8)
14. Exile feat. Muhsinah – Stay Tuned (Stay Here) (Vocal Remix) (Plug Research)
15. TaRaach vs. Tiombe Lockhart – Kalifornia (Instrumental) (Lovelution)
16. DJ Cadik feat. Invincible & Finale – Don’t Look Back (All Soundz)
17. Devon - Shoes (Thrilla Music Group)
18. SA-RA Creative Partners - High Moon Lust (Rawkus)
19. Luck-One – The Coolax (prod. Dekk) (Architect Ent.)
20. Johnson&Jonson feat. Miguel (Jontel) - Stadium (CD-R)

Artwork courtesy of Lyle Owerko & Wuzz Magazine.

DOWNLOAD: Fresh Selects Radio #1

STREAM: Fresh Selects Radio #1

SUBSCRIBE: Through iTunes or Google

ALSO CHECK: Fresh Selects – Loose Joints mix .zip

FRESH SELECTS: LOOSE JOINTS

Kenny Fresh — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 22:48:18 +0000

As promised, here’s the first-ever Fresh Selects mixtape. No, it’s not really mixed – its just a .zip full of tracks that I’ve been feeling lately, and/or been meaning to post about. I’m gonna be gone for the next couple of days so I wanted to put this up to hold you guys over until I come back. But if all goes well, I should be coming back with a bang. We’ll see…. but until then, bump this.

Tracklisting & download links below. Oh, and I also did some quick liner notes for each track after the jump, for those of you who are into that sort of thing.

Also, I just wanted to take a minute to say thanks to everyone who’s been spreading the word about the site whether it be through linking me on your own blogs, posting the link on your MySpace or Facebook, whatever it may be – thank you. This one’s for you.

1. Hi-Res – This World (Thrilla Music Group)
2. Black Spade vs. 88-Keys & Kanye West – Stay Up! (Viagra) (Stoney Rock Remix) (CD-R)
3. Mike Slott feat. DistantStarr – Boxed In (All City)
4. Georgia Anne Muldrow & Dudley Perkins – Shine On (prod. Black Milk) (Mello Music Group)
5. Devon – Hold Up Zelda (Thrilla Music Group)
6. SA-RA Creative Partners – All In The Kitchen (CD-R)
7. Black Spade feat. Coultrain – A Lil Taste (CD-R)
8. Finale – Ice (prod. DJ Final) (CD-R)
9. Dill Clinton (TaRaach vs. The G.O.A.T.) – LiveWire (Lovelution Prosper)
10. Knowledge – Relief (CD-R)
11. Ras_G & The Afrikan Space Program – Clair Huxtable (Brainfeeder)
12. Waajeed – Can’t You Feel It (Instrumental) (Bling47)
13. TaRaach feat. Mia Simone – Benjamins (prod. AmDex) (CD-R)
14. Noni Limar – Monogamy (prod. Black L.A.) (CD-R)
15. Finale – Run It Back (prod. Rashid Hadee) (CD-R)
16. DaveNotti – Get Real (prod. DaiN) (Thrilla Music Group)
17. Kissey Asplund & DistantStarr – Car Ride (To The Future) (prod. Jay Scarlett) (CD-R)
18. Troubleman feat. Steve Spacek – Without You (Waajeed’s Flash Gordon Remix) (Bling47)
19. Fatima – Wildchild (prod. VeeBeeO) (CD-R)
20. Donel Smokes – Got Me High (Bridgetown Steel)
21. Devon – Sleep Tight (Thrilla Music Group)

All tracks selected & compiled by Kenny Fresh for Fresh Selects.

DOWNLOAD: Fresh Selects – Loose Joints

LINER NOTES: Track-by-track commentary after the jump

1. Hi-Res – This World (Thrilla Music Group)
Hi-Res is an up-and-coming producer from Portland, down with the Thrilla crew. I wanted this mixtape to have a kind of spacey, futuristic feel to it – so I thought this would would make the perfect intro. This is off Hi-Res’ free instrumental album, Sittin’ Up In My Room. Highly recommended.

2. Black Spade vs. 88-Keys & Kanye West – Stay Up! (Viagra) (Stoney Rock Remix) (CD-R)
Exclusive white label remix from Black Spade AKA Stoney Rock. Bigs up to the homie Ced of Hawthorne Headhunters for this one. I haaaate that corny Borat line at the end of the first verse – makes me cringe every time. LOL!

3. Mike Slott feat. DistantStarr – Boxed In (All City)
This is a track the homie Distant from MAGr did with Mike Slott of Heralds Of Change. Great late night driving music.

4. Georgia Anne Muldrow & Dudley Perkins – Shine On (prod. Black Milk) (Mello Music Group)
Big ups to Mello for sending this through. This one’s actually for sale so if you dig it, support it. I dig this – no comment on its subject matter though….

5. Devon – Hold Up Zelda (Thrilla Music Group)
As far as this new era of beat shit goes, Devon’s definitely a name to remember. Actually, my very first post was about Devon. Be sure to check that if you haven’t already.

6. SA-RA Creative Partners – All In The Kitchen (CD-R)
This is another exclusive Shafiq from SA-RA hooked up last week. Goofy, off-the-wall shit.. but still dope.

7. Black Spade feat. Coultrain – A Lil Taste (CD-R)
This starts the Dilla dedication section of the mix. All of the next 4 tracks sample or reference Dilla in someway. But yeah, this is an old Black Spade track I got off his MySpace about a year or two ago.

8. Finale – Ice (prod. DJ Final) (CD-R)
Finale is one of my favorite MC’s right now – his album is gonna be crazy. More on that soon… in the meantime, this is a track he did with Norway producer, Final, that references the Jaylib track, “Ice.”

9. Dill Clinton (TaRaach vs. The G.O.A.T.) – LiveWire (Lovelution Prosper)
This is from Runnin 4 Precedent, a top-secret TaRaach project thats been in the work for years now. Word is the election campaign is coming soon… stay tuned for more on that.

10. Knowledge – Relief (CD-R)
Knowledge is another name to remember, he’s been putting in a lot of work lately. I first heard him on Invincible’s track, “Ropes” off of ShapeShifters but he’s done so much since then it’s hard to keep up. Look out for more from him & Devon on Fresh Selects coming soon.

11. Ras_G & The Afrikan Space Program – Clair Huxtable (Brainfeeder)
Dope new track Ras just hooked me up with the other day to close out the Dilla set. On this, Ras flips the sample to one of my favorite Slum Village tracks, in tribute to everyone’s MILF crush, Clair Huxtable. Ras explained to me this is for “the Clair after the kids left, the Clair Cliff saw before Rudy knocked on the door.” LOL

12. Waajeed – Can’t You Feel It (Instrumental) (Bling47)
This beat seems a little random on here – but it’s one of my favorites right now, so fuck it. Coultrain actually recorded a song to this for the forthcoming PPP Mixtape – so look out for that. As far as the beat goes – all my indie rock heads should be able to spot what Waajeed chopped up on this. Don’t get it twisted (hint) – there are samples galore in indie rock music.

13. TaRaach feat. Mia Simone – Benjamins (prod. AmDex) (CD-R)
Man… I almost have too many TaRaach exclusives – I might need to do a mixtape with all of these someday. In the meantime, here’s an oldie-but-goodie from 2003 that he recorded in Germany with AmDex of the Vinyl Junkies.

14. Noni Limar – Monogamy (prod. Black L.A.) (CD-R)
Noni is someone I’m really looking forward to hearing more from. You may remember her from C.R.A.C.’s “Buy Me Lunch” (which she also directed the video for). I got this off of her MySpace, hopefully she doesn’t get mad at me for using it :)

15. Finale – Run It Back (prod. Rashid Hadee) (CD-R)
Another one from Finale. He raps with such intensity on this one – you can’t help but feel it.

16. DaveNotti – Get Real (prod. DaiN) (Thrilla Music Group)
Notti & Dain were 2 of the first artists signed to the Thrilla crew – and this track is a good example why. Dave’s really beasting on this one – 5,000+ bars (I’m rounding up) and no hook. DaiN killed this beat too. Both of them have a lot more heat still in store.

17. Kissey Asplund & DistantStarr – Car Ride (To The Future) (prod. Jay Scarlett) (CD-R)
Another exclusive that Distant hooked up. This is off his upcoming project w/ Swedish singer, Kissey Asplund. Can’t wait till that one comes out.

18. Troubleman feat. Steve Spacek – Without You (Waajeed’s Flash Gordon Remix) (Bling47)
Long story behind this one – but basically Troubleman’s label put out this remix without paying Waajeed. Not a good move. But it’s a dope track and it fit the feel of the mix, so fuck it – don’t buy it, get it right here instead.

19. Fatima – Wildchild (prod. VeeBeeO) (CD-R)
Fatima’s another singer I’m expecting big things from. You might remember her from the Hygher Baby post I did. I really like how she came off on this one – her voice is definitely that of an old soul, despite her age. I dig the sparseness and simplicity in the beat too.

20. Donel Smokes – Got Me High (Bridgetown Steel)
I’ll be an honest – I don’t know much about Donel Smokes – except that he’s in Bridgetown Steel, rapped on Exile’s Dirty Science album and a track that got left off of Blu’s Below The Heavens. I love this beat though – I don’t even smoke, but when this shit comes on?? Pass some of that over here.

21. Devon – Sleep Tight (Thrilla Music Group)
Damn… all that smoking made me tired. A nice sleepy beat from Devon to close things out.

Hygher Baby …and don’t ever come down

Kenny Fresh — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 10:42:28 +0000

Another exclusive sneak preview for you guys – this time its from Hygher Baby, the new full-length collaboration from Swedish producer/MC Pure P and singer/co-producer Melo. Their debut album together, Let Me Play U Something U Have Never Heard, is a fresh blend of cool, mellow (no pun intended) vocals and smooth, melodic beats that still have the right amount of bump to them.

The name Hygher Baby is a playful continuation of the now-defunct rap/production duo, Up Hygh, which Pure P was one half of, and whose sole release had Melo featured on a track. As a part of Up Hygh, P had done remixes for Steve Spacek and Owusu & Hannibal and collaborated with the likes of Little Brother, Planet Asia, and Eska – since the group split, he has released solo 12″s and numerous compilation tracks, and has being holding down DJ residencies in his hometown of Stockholm, as well as touring abroad. At the same time, Melo has been appearing on singles from a slew of artists including house producer Rasmus Faber and Raw Fusion labelmate Simbad for years now, and has just released his debut solo album, Off My Chest, earlier this year.

Let Me Play U Something… is a sonic meeting between the spacey, Detroit-inspired funk of Up Hygh, and the soulful, chilled out vibes of Melo’s solo album. With both styles in tact, the tone of the album spans the spectrum of multiple moods and settings, including the bedroom (“Coming Home,” “Let U Go”), more involved relationships (“Grow Old With U,” “Missing U Simply”), and some more upbeat club work-outs (“Intergalactic Love,” “Struggle”) – but my personal favorites are the album’s slow jams. Included below are three highlights from those – a free download of the laidback-but-progressive first single, “Let U Go (Parts 1 & 2),” and streams of both the future slow dance anthem, “Grow Old With U” and the back-and-forth duet with an unexpected-but-welcomed twist, “Coming Home (Parts 1 & 2),” which features promising London-by-way-of-Stockholm songstress, Fatima. You can expect to be hearing a lot more from her in the near future, so remember the name.

As a bonus, I’ve included the Pure P-produced, self-titled Thrilla crew anthem from rising Portland MC’s, Epp Saheed and DaveNotti. Also, after the jump, I’ve included two of my favorites from P’s work in Up Hygh, plus the video for “Real Slow” off of Melo’s debut album.

Hygher Baby “Grow Old (With U)”

Hygher Baby “Coming Home (Parts 1 & 2)” (feat. Fatima)

DOWNLOAD: Hygher Baby “Let U Go (Parts 1 & 2)”

BONUS DOWNLOAD: Epp Saheed & DaveNotti “Thrilla” (prod. Pure P)

SUPPORT: Hygher Baby’s Let Me Play U Something U Have Never Heard will be released on Circulations in Japan on November 8th, and will be available worldwide in early 2009.

BONUS TRACKS:

Up Hygh “Get Out My Face” (feat. Melo)
from The Venus Album (Raw Fusion, 2006)

Owusu & Hannibal “Delirium (Up Hygh Remix)”
from the Delirium 12″ single (Ubiquity, 2006)

BONUS VIDEO:

Melo “Real Slow” (directed by John & Karl-Uno Lindgren)
from Off My Chest (2008, Raw Fusion)

Notti Breaks ‘08

Kenny Fresh — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 06:47:17 +0000

A quick beat CD by the good homie DaveNotti available for free download for you. Notti is a Yonkers, NY-born MC/producer whose recently re-located to Portland & has been an integral part of the Thrilla Music Group ever since.

Notti Breaks 2008 finds Dave chopping up & having fun with some of his favorite samples & breaks, as well as maybe a little too much fun with his newfound friend, Rob64 (aka DJ Robo-Ono) – but you be the judge.

Preview 2 of my favorite joints from this batch below & then download at the bottom…

DOWNLOAD: DaveNotti – Notti Breaks 2008

Much more coming from Notti on here soon, so stay tuned…