Myself & my trusted resident DJ, Doc Adam,
have collaborated w/ Los Angeles-based clothing line, Twelve Bar
to bring you a special two-part Fresh Selects Retrospective mix.

This first installment of The Porch Sessions,
is meant to be a time capsule of sorts –
an audible freeze frame of the first 12 months of music posted on Fresh Selects.
I wanted to compile everything from the site’s first year
just to kind of sum it all up,
put a period at the end of the sentence,
& cement the foundation for us to build on for the next steps.
It can also serve as a starter kit
for anyone who found out about the site after the fact,
as well as a thank you to everyone that’s been down since day one.

I went through all of the posts from the site’s first year
& selected some of my personal favorite tracks,
plus all of the ones that garnered the most response.
Almost all of the songs included in the mix were exclusives
released or premiered thru the site
& they all played a part in shaping the sound & style that I had been going for.
To convey the full progression as it unfolded,
I wanted to put them all in one mix
(which actually ended up being two separate, hour-long mixes
because there was just too much music)
& let them play in chronological order.

Since mixing songs in order of release,
& not by BPM/tempo/mood, etc.
basically goes against all the most basic rules of making a mixtape -
I knew I had to get the very best to make it happen right.
Enter Doc Adam (no pause).
Plus his apartment has The Porch, so it was a no-brainer.

Included are some kind words from the even kinder people @ Twelve Bar,
who presented the mix & co-premiered it on their site today as well,
+ the tracklisting w/ links to all the original posts
so you can get the full versions & back stories on all of the songs.
I’m still in the process of updating some of the older posts
from the first version of the site,
so if you find any dead links just leave a comment & I’ll fix it.

Free download of the one-track, hour-long mix can be found below,
& be on the look out for Part 2 of The Porch Sessions RTRSPCTV coming soon.

There is a lot we could say about FRSH SLCTS – the Portland-based digital label and multimedia platform that has been providing you with the best in hip-hop, soul and cutting-edge music since 2008. All of it would be good. But the main thrust is right there in their name, albeit without the vowels as is their style. Seemingly everything they do is fresh. Freshly presented, freshly considered, freshly packaged, and freshly curated. And that is the second part right there. Because the “selects” element of the name is also key, as they hand-pick artists and songs with the educated touch of a musical magician, never failing to bring out the very best available. And so when the chance came to bring you the exclusive FRSH SLCTS Retrospective mix, an anthology of some of their favorite songs from their early years, we jumped at it.

1. devonwho – Dungeonraps (2088 Archives)
2. DaveNotti – Notti Break #5 (Notti Breaks 2008)
3. PPP feat. J Dilla – Shotgun (Waajeed’s Plinky Remix) (single)
4. TaRaach & Konphlict feat. Big Tone & Kawshus – Socialize (single)
5. TaRaach & Konphlict – 10 Feet High (Giraffe Pussy) (single)
6. Miguel – Overload (Mischief: The Mixtape)
7. Little Dragon – Twice (live) (FRSH KPT SCRT)
8. M64 – Rhythm Of The Drum (single)
9. M64 – Helium (single)
10. Invincible & Finale – Don’t Sleep (single)
11. PPP feat. Coultrain – Angel (Waajeed Remix) (single)
12. Coultrain – The Wanderer (single)
13. SA-RA feat. Bilal – Master Teacher (demo #1) (“Master Teacher” EP)
14. SA-RA feat. Georgia Anne Muldrow – Master Teacher (demo #2) (“Master Teacher” EP)
15. SA-RA – Master Teazer (KenBts.’ Revenge Edit) (“Master Teacher” EP)
16. Hi-Res – Thisworld (FRSH SLCTS – Loose Joints)
17. devonwho – Hold Up Zelda (FRSH SLCTS – Loose Joints)
18. Finale – Ice (FRSH SLCTS – Loose Joints)
19. Knxwledge – Relief. (FRSH SLCTS – Loose Joints)
20. Fatima – Wildchild (FRSH SLCTS – Loose Joints)
21. Noni Limar – Monogamy (FRSH SLCTS – Loose Joints)
22. Super Smoky Soul feat. Guilty Simpson – Knockout Kings (New Worlds PRVW)
23. Karma Stewart – Withdrawal (The Karma EP)
24. PPP feat. Coultrain & Jamila Raegan – Synchronicity (Abundance Mixtape)
25. PPP feat. Coultrain & Jamila Raegan – Can’t You Feel It (Abundance Mixtape)
26. Fatima – Do I Know You? (FRSH KPT SCRT)
27. Ab & Daru feat. T3 – Dirty Soul (A Work In Progress PRVW)
28. Blu – Say Say (FSR #1)
29. SA-RA Creative Partners – High Moon Lust (FSR #1)
30. Cubic Zirconia – I Wanna Freebase You (FSR #1)
31. Johnson&Jonson feat. Miguel – Stadium (FSR #1)
32. Suzi Analogue – SageBurns (World. Excerpts 1-9)

Selected by KNNY FRSH
Edited by Doc Adam
Presented by Twelve Bar
Artwork by Twelve Bar & Dennis de Groot
Hosted by ♎ & ♐ for Team 1984

Keeping things moving, here’s an exclusive preview of the highly anticipated solo album from SA-RA Creative Partner, Shafiq Husayn. The album, entitled Shafiq En A Free Ka (“ka” meaning “mind” or “life force” in Egyptian), is the embodiment of just that – Shafiq in a free state of mind, exploring and defining through future-afrocentric sounds and fuzzy melodies. Along for the ride are a team of musicians, writers, arrangers and guest vocalists including Bilal, Om’mas Keith, Count Bass D, Sonny Coates, & many more – all with Shafiq still holding down the helm.

For a quick glimpse into A Free Ka, I’ve got the first two leaks for you today. First up is “Lil Girl,” which features Fresh Selects family member, Fatima, providing a melancholy lament over a nicely chopped vocal sample, familiar bassline and a shuffling beat. To go along with that, we have “Nirvana,” featuring another member of the FS fam, Noni Limar, alongside two of her sisters in arms, Nia Andrews and Rozzi Daime – all coming together over a layered, throbbing slab of latin-flavored bump.

Also included, after the jump, is an older video of Shafiq in the studio with Sonny Coates, working on what would become “He Say, She Say” from the latest SA-RA album.

You can download “Lil Girl” and hear a full-length stream of “Nirvana” below. Be on the look out for much more on and from the album, including a “Nirvana” remix from Mark de Clive-Lowe, before it drops this October, courtesy of Plug Research. Also, credit due to the RBMA for first debuting a stream of “Lil Girl.”

Shafiq Husayn “Nirvana”
(feat. Nia Andrews, Noni Limar & Rozzi Daime)

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For the latest installment in the Fresh Kept Secrets series – I co-present to you (along with my friends & co-workers at the Red Bull Music Academy) some updates from Loose Joints alumna, Fatima. If you’re just now catching on, Fatima is a refreshingly talented singer residing in London, by way of Stockholm, Sweden. RBMA described it best when they said, “mix The Fugees with Sade, Quasimoto, and Minnie Riperton, into one big Studio Chu style collage, and you begin to get an idea of the psychedelic musical journey Fatima has begun.” Comparisons aside, she’s been making a name for herself worldwide through her live shows and collaborations with numerous respected artists – and although she is still currently unsigned, she’s already worked with such heavyweight producers as Shafiq Husayn (SA-RA), Exile, Coleman, Ras_G, Hudson Mohawke, Mike Slott, and more for her upcoming album.

Released by the RBMA earlier this week, we have a free download of a new song from Fatima, entitled “Do I Know You?,” which was co-produced by Cohen, Dorian Concept & Cuthead. The track was recorded when all four of the aforementioned attended the Barcelona session of the RBMA last year, and it is one of the first tracks leaked from the upcoming Various Assets compilation, on which Fatima is featured on a handful of other songs as well. For more info and insight on the track, be sure to check out the full article on the Academy’s site.

But before we get to that, I’ve also selected two of her more well-known collaborations, as well as an unreleased solo demo. First, we have the extremely buzzworthy title track from the debut album of the production trio, TettoryBad (a supergroup consisting of Jazzy Sport affiliates Masaya Fantasista & Grooveman Spot as Tettory BLK from Japan, alongside London’s own Simbad). The song was one of my personal favorites of 2008 and apparently I’m not alone in that opinion, as it appeared on tastemaker Karen P‘s …Broadcasting compilation for Sonar Kollektiv and was also played on almost every respected radio show and podcast last year.

Following that up, we have “Coming Home (Parts 1 & 2)” – one of the highlights from Hygher Baby‘s debut album, Let Me Play U Something U Have Never Heard. Hygher Baby is another supergroup of sorts, this time consisting of Fatima’s old friends from Sweden, producer Pure P and singer, Melo, coming together for their debut release, which dropped in Japan through the Circulations label last year & will be available everywhere else via Raw Fusion in the coming months. You may remember the song from my album preview post a few months back.

And closing out the set is an unreleased demo, “Garbageband vs. Quas,” which features Fatima recording herself as a one-woman band in her living room using household objects as shakers & her own backing vocals – all coming together as a tribute to everyone’s brick-wielding alien alias, Lord Quas.

Streams of all three of those tracks are available below, and be sure to get your free download of “Don’t I Know You?” at the bottom. For more on Fatima, links are provided for her guest selector mix on RBMA Radio, as well as a link to the Loose Joints mix .zip which includes her solo song, “Wildchild,” produced by VeeBeeO.

As promised, here’s the first-ever Fresh Selects mixtape compilation. 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.

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 two rising Portland MC’s, Epp and DaveNotti. Also, after the jump, I’ve included the video for Melo’s “Real Slow” which was directed by John & Karl-Uno Lindgren.