MIXTAPE 91 – SOULTRONICA 5 – BOUNTY HUNTERS

In Volume 5 of Soultronica, capsule we find our bounty-hunting heroes, Dex Digital and Brothertron, cruising through the Beta Quadrant looking to get paid. Just as Dex gets word about a mysteriously high bounty posted on the perpetrators of a mysterious crime (who gets all bent out of shape over an old WWIII artifact being stolen?), Brothertron notices the same bandits zooming by their ship. Incredulous at their luck, the two give chase.

All is not as it seems, though – it appears that these space pirates have some pretty advanced (and illegal) technology in their little 12-Series beater. What will happen when our brave duo finally encounters the space pirates? Will they get their bounty? Where did the space pirates get that cloaking device? What the hell is a “Guh-Unitay”, and why do the pirates – and the Intergalactic Corporation – want it so bad? Find out in this installment of the Soultronica Series.

PS – Yes, this is a continuation of the soultronica storyline. If you’re new, you might want to start from the beginning.

intro 2: DJ Mehdi – I Am Somebody (DJ Paris Version). The joint goes hard, what can I say? djmedhi.

Special thanks to S. Kim for extra voice talent (S-Kim the bounty TV news reporter)!

Justice - D.A.N.C.E. (Justice Remix vs MSTRKRFT Remix). I know that TK already dropped the original of this one back in The New Soul Vol 3 (which you really need to check, by the way), but this first version just goes too hard not to put you all up on. Then we’ve got the re-edit soundclash with the MSTRKRFT version, which doesn’t bang as hard, but the reinterpretation on the synth lines is bad. myspace.com/etjusticepourtous, myspace.com/mstrkrft.

Neptunes + Daft Punk – Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger. I guess you could call this a remix, but it’s a bit too different to my ears. This circulated a long time ago (yes, Kanye was late to the game), and I just now rediscovered it. Whether you dig their stuff or not (and there’s no reason why you wouldn’t), people like P and Timbo really drive a fair bit of this new sound – as do Daft Punk. myspace.com/pharrell

digilude (searching for the space pirates): JR Don – Yobma. myspace.com/ghosteo.

Styles P – The Hardest ft AZ. Don’t forget that Soultronica has a lot of its roots in straightforward hip-hop as well. This cut could have worked easily as some standard boom-bap NY steez, but the futuristic synths just put this one on some galactic shit. myspace.com/stylesp.

Ty - Mpho’s Lament. 8 seconds. Yep. Important, though.myspace.com/tyandupwards.

Scienz of Life – Ginsu (Bronx River mix). Got this from John Robinson not too long, and immediately asked to put this one on the show. Took me a second to get to it, but I think it was worth the wait. The original mix is cool, but this futuristic one is just next level for me. myspace.com/scienzoflife.

digilude (battle): Biomass - Auxiumantia. Brilliant ambient producer from my own neck of the woods. If you ever see a flyer with the name “Biomass” on it, go, go, go. Dude brings his own television monitors. myspace.com/biomass.

Ladybug Mecca – Sweet and Polite. I have to admit, it took me a couple listens to really appreciate this one. As you might be able to tell, this one was produced by Sa-Ra. Sometimes I forget how good Ladybug Mecca really is – and the combo of her with the bizarre production of Sa-Ra is just too much. Somebody should tell them to do more collabos. The helium synth at the end is just bananas, by the way. myspace.com/ladybugmecca.

That’s what it is for this week. And yes, there is a whole storyline and universe behind this saga. You do not want to miss what happens next.

say something…

MIXTAPE 73 – SOULTRONICA 4 – THE ESCAPE

After landing on the surface of Andromeda-13 in search of his cyborg partner Brothertron, approved Dex Digital contacts the ship’s computer (Cosbotron) in order to get coordinates on Brothertron’s last known location. Shortly after receiving those coordinates, valeologist Dex Digital is ambushed by a group of invisible space aliens native to Andromeda-13 – possibly the same beings that captured Brothertron.

Soon, Dex Digital awakens in deep within the aliens’ compound. He discovers that he is trapped in a cage suspended from the ceiling by a rather weak chain, and is accompanied in capture by Brothertron and an alien that appears well-versed in 21st Century Ebonics. Will our heroes make it back to their ship alive? What will happen to their new alien companion? And where did this alien dude learn to talk like that? Find out in this episode of Soultronica…

Be warned – none of this will likely make sense unless you’ve heard the rest of the soultronica series.

Tracklist:

intro – a ghosteo beat.

Ammon Contact – A Satellite’s Return. Special shouts to J.R. and Carlos Nino for linking me up with this jam. This one’s off of New Birth, which (from what I know) is the debut Ammon Contact record. There’s another one out, though, so check it.. AC on Ninjatune.

4Hero – Take My Time feat Jack Davey. Yes, vocals contributed by the singer of J*Davey. 4Hero has been around forever in this whole Nu Jazz / drum n bass thang, and this new soultronicaesque sound that they’ve got going on is hot. I might be sneaking another cut in off of their latest album – Play With the Changes. Shouts to JC of Milan Records for making the connection on this one. myspace.com/4hero.

interlude – Nicholas Cicero – Muerto 6.

The Big Payback – It’s You. The meandering opening cut on the second release from the Japan-based Circulations label. This song is not even the half of it, ladies and gentlemen. I think the artists on here are NY/France based – what they’re doing on a Tokyo label I don’t know, but I’m not complaining. Shoutouts to Dai again for getting this to me. myspace.com/circulations

Sa-Ra – Hey Love. Yeah, it would have been nice had I put this one out before the album come out, but hey, things happen. Doesn’t change the fact that the cut is nice. I still have some more on deck, so stay in tune.. sa-ra.net.

Ammon Contact – Omniverses 2. Probably my second favorite track off of the New Birth record. Check these cats out.

Glass Candy – Rolling Down the Hills [no vocals edit]. No offense to Ida, but I just couldn’t fuck with her vocals (at first – they actually grew on me after a while). Johnny Jewel, on the other hand, is a recent discovery (to me – he’s been doing his thing for a minute) and I dig his weird retro coked-out production. You can find the original on the Glass Candy myspace. myspace.com/glasscandy

pre-fight interlude – Josh Ivey

outro music – ripped from the Nintendo game Xexyz.

that’s this week’s jumpoff. And again – if you’re new to the series, you might want to step back and listen to Soultronica Vol 1, Soultronica Vol 2, and the recent Soultronica Vol 3.

MIXTAPE 67 – SOULTRONICA 3: THE SAGA CONTINUES…

On this edition of Soultronica – The Saga Continues, drug we find our heroes in deep space. After a mishap with the warp drive due to dex digital’s android copilot BrotherTron-17 pulling some dumb-ass stunts in the middle of an asteroid field, the two have pulled into orbit around Andromeda-13 to collect some valuable Dilithium Crystals in order to repair the ship.

But what’s with those weird readings dex keeps getting on the system scanners?

intro: Unagi – Space Cadet. unagi442.com
DJ Jazzy Jeff – Whatever U Want feat Little Brother. This track might surprise people that haven’t been paying attention to what Jeff has been doing recently. From what I’ve heard of this album, it’s pretty damn nice. myspace.com/djjazzyjeff.

Kingsbread – It’s Alright feat Steve Spacek. Dig the spaced-out production on this joint, and Spacek is just ridiculous with the vocals. I think I need to dig out his old solo album…myspace.com/kingsbreadsessions

interlude instro: Record Take 55 by Josh Ivey.

Chromeo – Needy Girl. This song is seriously the jam. Chromeo are producing some really bananas shit nowadays, and the video for this joint is really a must-see. I’ll post it soon. myspace.com/chromeo.

Basement Jaxx – Freakalude. I always wished they’d extend this and just make a goddamn track out of it. myspace.com/basementjaxx.

Quant – Tryin’. This joint was a staple in my soul mixes at the old college radio spot. I am probably going to have to dig out some Bugz In The Attic now, too. Oh, this dude is from Gothenburg, Sweden. myspace.com/jonasquant

And that’s it for this episode. The saga continues on Soultronica Vol 4…light up the comments section, kids.