Heeere's POKEY!

For anyone that cares here’s the new Velvet Tide mixtape, its kinda experimental jazzy hip hop. You can cop it for free from the bandcamp, just press the download button on Soundcloud. We’ve spent a year making this one so ENJOY :D

I figured I’d start posting about songs and albums that have inspired me to start making music and helped shape the music I make now. One of the biggest influences to my “sound” is Flying Lotus and I think Between Friends was the first thing I’d ever heard from him.

I remember the first time I heard it, we were mixing the Mothers EP and it was starting to drag a bit so we took a lunch break and put some music on. I’d downloaded the 2012 Adult Swim Singles album after enjoying the Unclassified album they released. The intro has the smooth vibe sample before kicking into the little interlude then the first verse. F-f-f-first off…

FlyLo’s production was on point here, the jazzy drum loop swings so well and the simplicity of the beat really compliments the dark vocals. Earl and FlyLo (as Captain Murphy) deliver 3 hot verses with all kindsa crazy wordplay. At the time most of the rap I listened to was classic West Coast stuff ala Snoop and Dre so the pitched down drawl Earl puts on for his verses was totally new to me. I mean, lyrics like “So unorthodox//chilling with a shaman eating ramen in a parking lot” where more words rhyme than I’ve had hot meals. And lines like “Other niggas be going hard//But Early be going artisan” (which may or may not be about break) really seemed to sum up my problems with rap at the time while exciting my ears and inspiring me at the same time. Both the vocals and the production in this song were gateways to new music for me and presented me with a whole new style of production to master. The song eventually got me into not only Flying Lotus and Earl Sweatshirt but also DOOM, Madlib, Dilla, Tyler, Domo Genesis, Thundercat and tonnes more.

Suggested Listening if you like this:

Earl Sweatshirt - Chum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCbWLSZrZfw

Domo Genesis x Alchemist ft. Earl Sweatshirt - Gamebreaker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZDOngZd-wM

Flying Lotus - Tea Leaf Dancers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKQVcJ_Zi9M

Flying Lotus - Slow it Down

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWMG9xA2OJQ

Madvillain - Great Day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS1cggllfig

Plus jazz fusion bass remix https://soundcloud.com/flyinglotus/flying-lotus-between-friends

I realised I never posted this song here. If you like what you hear then send me a message and I’ll send you more off the upcoming mixtape.

If you’re from the brainfeeder or rappcats tumblr and have read this far you may as well hear the rest ;)