Getting things on back track -
we teamed up w/ Surefire Agency & the Abstract Earth Project
to once again pick up our FRSH SLCTS WKND BEATS series,
w/ an exclusive, all-new EP from the man himself – Dibia$e.

By now, you should already know Dibiase from either his debut album on Alpha Pup last year,
for winning the Red Bull Big Tune beat battle in 2010,
his work w/ 14KT, Exile, Blu, devonwho, or his Green Llama crew constituents,
or for just generally being the muhfuckin man…
so lets pretend like you do & move on.

For this 9th installment in our series,
Dibi offers up Comfort Zone -
a 7 track beat EP, w/ more worthwhile morsels in its 17+ minutes
than most producers could give you in a full album’s time.

Not only that – but these particular tracks are literally hot off the presses,
being heard here for the first time,
all of them just being bounced down from their respective programs early this same morning.

& w/ this week’s tragic passing of our man J-1 still being fresh on our minds,
we decided to dedicate this project to his memory.
W/ his active passion for fwd-thinking funk music &
everything he did for the beat scene w/ both of his Starship 27 compilations
(which Dibiase contributed a track for each volume to) –
we hope that he would approve of this project.
Dibi explained a little bit more about one specific tribute moment in his e-mail,
copied below:

track 4 sub factor ( so ruff ) has a lil [audio] footage from so ruff so tuff in l.a. – thats j-1 on the mic… i thought that beat would be something he would gettin amped up on. if its funky he mess with it. went with a smooth approach ,and a lil funk influenced on a few joints too. hopefully heads dig this project.

He also broke down the different soft/hardware he used for each track.

Knxwledge gave me a tutorial on ableton while he was in sacramento. So i been using that more as of late. So i used ableton on Send me , Deep Winter ,and Applebeez .So those pretty much my first batch of ableton beats.

Track 2 Bulletproof was made on the 404 alot of my llama project joints i use that piece. i get a different gritty sound out of that. I try taking on a different character with any machine.lol speaking of machines i used the maschine on track 4 sub factor.

For the tracks blessings and serchin for it i made with reason. I get all over the place with software and hardware at times.

You can preview 3 of the tracks
before downloading the full EP below.

Also included as an added bonus,
is live footage from Dibia$e’s first show in PRTLND
@ the Fresh Selects Presents… concert series
@ The Fix last September,
as well as the clip for his new brand new 7″,
“Fly Me t’The Moon” w/ Versis,
directed by Ruffmercy.

1. Send Me
2. Bulletproof
3. Deep Winter
4. Sub Factor (So Ruff)
5. Blessings
6. Applebeez
7. Serchin For It

Produced & Mixed by Dibia$e
Artwork by Nate James
Selected by KNNY FRSH for FRSH SLCTS

From Bay Area producer/musician/turntablist extraordinaire, Teeko
comes his latest solo release, Light Up The Darkness –
soon to be available in CD form via the Mellow Orange label,
along with a special limited edition, clear vinyl bonus EP
containing both instrumentals versions of select CD cuts,
+ a few exclusives as well.

Despite LUTD‘s rotating supporting cast of singers & musicians,
the album unfolds as a very focused & unified listen -
combining elements of future funk, Ayers-esque jazz,
& modern day beat elements -
that all come together to form a very consistent style & message throughout,
making for easy full & repeated listens -
something that can be all to rare in albums these days.

Selected here is an exclusive free download of
the album’s opener, “Bridge To Truth” -
which features the mighty Coultrain lighting the way,
over a steady rimshot, jazz shuffle drums & synth-led Teeko setting,
w/ Adam Theis of the Jazz Mafia assisting on the trombone.
The song may sound familiar,
as it was first previewed as an instrumental on
Blind I For The Kids back in 2008.
Train was even nice enough to provide us w/ the lyrics to the piece below.

But before that,
you can stream two other tracks from the project -
the jazzy, EP-exclusive jam, “Free Ya Soul,”
as well as the album’s first single, “Neva Find Anotha (All My Love),”
which features an inspired performance from Black Spade,
w/ Dwight Trible assisting on backing vocals,
& Kenny Brooks on the saxophone.

Also included as a bonus download,
is an instrumental meeting of the minds
btwn Teeko & two of his West Coast production peers,
LA’s Dibiase & PRTLND’s own, devonwho -
aptly titled “Young Funk Lords,”
courtesy of Teeko’s site.

“Bridge To Truth”
written & arranged by Aaron M. Frison

Its all based on fear,
its all based on fear…

La da da…

There r no accidents, just happy accidents
Educated fools couldnt invent laws of attraction
If u dare its pretty mystery, pretty mysteriously mystery,
like violets growin constantly in the coming of spring
Just as the record spins, there’s no coincidence
Angel or demon, whichever side of ur spirit ur feedin’
& it goes as above so below, the portal is never closed
& the man who looks within is wealthier than the president
Cuz then lightnin’ strikes & skylarks sing in the dead of night,
On cue, follow the light 2 the bridge of truth….

September 23rd, 2010

Just one week after releasing his debut album, Machines Hate Me, on L.A.’s Alpha Pup Records – beat boy-wonder, Dibia$e, made another debut – this time it was his very first show in Portland, OR. On his way to perform at the renowned Decibel festival in Seattle, Dibi stayed in Portland for a week and blessed The Fix with a beatset opening up for Portland/San Francisco hybrid, Grillade.

Included in the video is just a taste of that set (…full podcast to come at a later date?) including live interpretations of “Skullcrack” (the first single from Machines) and the Parliament flip/De La Soul tribute, “Knee Deep.” Also included below, as a bonus download, is the original track Dibi did the “Knee Deep” flip for – Kardinal Offishall‘s nod to “Me, Myself And I” for Mick Boogie & Terry Urban‘s Le Da Soul: 20 Years Of De La Soul mixtape, released back in November of 2009.

Curated & Produced by KNNY FRSH for Fresh Selects
Filmed by Paulius Kontijevas & Daniel Evans
Edited by Paulius Kontijevas
Audio Mixed by Doc Adam
Hosted by Ronin Roc
Headlining Act: Grillade

The Fix DJ’s:
Rev Shines
& DJ Kez
& Dundiggy

September 30th, 2010

Yet another VTech & Fresh Selects exclusive first listen – once again coming your way live from Portland, Oregon. This time, we present you with “EaseYourMind” – a song from one of the year’s most anticipated releases, Blu’s NoYork! album. The song is a melodic, jazz-tinged tune that was originally produced by Blu’s frequent collaborator, Exile, but is seen here performed live by the full NoYork! band at where else but The Fix – Portland’s premier party for quality music of this sort.

This was just one of the dozen or so brand new songs that Blu & the band played for one of the first times anywhere that night back in September – and they did it at The Fix. It was another special occurrence in Portland that we were glad to bring to the city & can now bring to the rest of the world.

Also included as a free bonus download below the video is the song “SLNGBNGrs!” – a possible contender for the NoYork! album which Blu recorded over this song – a Dibia$e remix of the devonwho song, “Fedoraworm.”

And remember – “We’reNotBjork,ThomYorke,MikeYork,ZooYork…It’sNoYork!”

Curated & Produced by KNNY FRSH for Fresh Selects
Filmed by Paulius Kontijevas & Daniel Evans
Edited by Paulius Kontijevas
Audio Mixed by Doc Adam
Opening Act: G_Force

The Fix DJ’s:
Rev Shines
& DJ Kez
& Dundiggy
& your host Ronin Roc