Upful LIFE 2024: Favorite Records & Much More! [curated by B.Getz]
Dearly Beloveds –
Proudly presenting Upful LIFE’s 8th annual year-end favorite records extravaganza. In 2024, a myriad of music-makers again gifted the world an abundance of sonorous sound art. Distilling the field often proves an arduous, methodical process – your humble narrator once again agonizing over just who would make the cut.
This colossal compendium includes 24 original LPs reviewed, with another 24 terrific records recommended. Plus, a gang of EPs, singles/B-sides, dope DJ sets/mixtapes, and a smattering of official live releases.
- Eligibility requires the music be released in 2024.
- Spotify playlists embedded for everything available, + Soundcloud playlist for DJ sets & mixes.
- Cover art links to a Bandcamp page whenever applicable. If you find yourself digging a particular release, please consider purchasing the music to directly support the creators.
Please remember, this is a collection of favorite records; most definitely not assigning “bests” or crowning any champs here. Per usual, the releases are not ranked in any form or fashion; the second set of albums could’ve just as easily been included in the first. I simply didn’t have the time or bandwidth to scribble 48 individual record reviews. This exhaustive endeavor is my annual passion project, as Upful LIFE is primarily a solo mission; however this year I would like to thank Tiffany Clemons for the graphic design assist, and Ryan Hayes helped out huge by aggregating album art and purchase links.
Please consider supporting my work on this long-form year-end wrap up, & monthly deep dives on The Upful LIFE Podcast. Send me a few dollas for makin’ you holla!!
Thank you for enjoying and supporting all things Upful LIFE!
– bg
2024 Favorite Records
Anna Moss – Amnesty
Emerging from the ashes of a traumatic, dehumanizing spell: this phoenix of deeply personal compositions would eventually comprise Amnesty, Anna Moss’s solo debut LP released in March 2024 via Empire Records. An intoxicating gumbo of bedroom pop and existential R&B, Amnesty is at once Anna’s potent opening salvo and a righteous rebirth, too. Manifested from the nadir of her own darkness, Anna Moss mined a medicinal muse from within, incessantly writing on guitar and rediscovering her salvation in song. Intimate, delicate, dreamy, messy, a flurry of new tunes began to flow freely, slowly liberating Anna from the suffocating clutches of her own despair. Paeans born of an emotional purge peel back the rawest, realest layers to reveal ruminations on an artist’s humanity. Throughout Amnesty, Moss treads distinctly different topography than with the idiosyncratic Handmade Moments—her long-running political folk-hop duo with partner Joel Ludford. Rich in ethereal harmonies, subtle sensuality, and melodies majestic, her album’s stripped-down, organic-soul sound leans into throbbing basslines and pulses with a buoyant thump.
Nubya Garcia – Odyssey
Of all the incredible musicians bubbling out of the UK’s sprawling, scorching nu-jazz scene, tenor sax sorceress Nubya Garcia is probably my favorite artist. Her 2020 debut SOURCE was among the finest records that year, and on her sophomore seance Odyssey, the virtuosic bandleader and reluctant tastemaker levels up her game, again blowing her horn like a boss, and improving on composition and arranging. Garcia’s otherworldly collaborators are back for round two, including keyboardist extraordinaire Joe Armon-Jones (Ezra Collective), bassist Daniel Casimir, and criminally-underrated drummer Sam Jones. A trifecta of tremendous vocalists show up and show out, including the regal Esperanza Spalding, steezy Brit singer Ritchie, and idiosyncratic underground queen Georgia Anne Muldrow, a nubian empress of the highest order herself. The musical fare leans a bit more traditional and straight ahead than her multi-hued debut, and introduces some stirring string sections to compliment Garcia’s soaring saxophone. There’s elements of 90’s acid jazz, Bristol trip-hop, NYC boom bap, whiffs of dubstep, and a whole lot of terrain on this Odyssey. Hot Tracks: “We Walk in Gold”, “Triumphance”, “Set it Free”, “The Seer”.
Nigel Hall & DJ Harrison
The Burning Bush: A Journey Through
the Music of Earth, Wind & Fire
Devastated by the 2016 passing of Earth, Wind, & Fire’s pioneering co-founder/co-lead singer and bandleader Maurice White, a few years later Nigel Hall (Lettuce) and DJ Harrison (Butcher Brown) embarked on an ambitious tribute to their fallen hero. This record, finally released in 2024, serves as the embryonic document of their increasingly-prolific musical partnership, or what Harrison termed “the nucleus of their brotherhood.”. The product of their prodigious passion, study, and grief is the phenomenal The Burning Bush: A Journey Through the Music of Earth, Wind & Fire, an updated, reverential rendering of EWF’s seismic 1976 eponymous masterpiece. Lyrically, the music dreams of a grandiose version of humanity and culture that proved alluring to a cross-pollination of fans stretching three generations. Musically, the dynamic duo turns the temperature (and tempo) up a tad to tear into this molten slab of timelessness
The Burning Bush: A Journey Through the Music of Earth, Wind & Fire features guest appearances by Hall’s Lettuce bandmates Adam Deitch (drums) and Eric “Benny” Bloom (trumpet) & Harrison’s Butcher Brown counterparts Corey Fonville (drums), Andrew Randazzo (bass), Marcus Tenney (horns), Morgan Burrs (guitar). Former Butcher Brown guitarist Keith Askey, Billboard chart-topping guitarist/producer Brandon Lane, and revered Richmond-based vocalist Sam Reed also appear on the album.
Jimetta Rose &
The Voices of Creation
Things Are Getting Better
“An artist’s duty, as far as I’m concerned, is to reflect the times.” Nina Simone
Jimetta Rose is a former Pentecostal youth choir director who made her bones in LA’s multicultural music scene over two decades. The Voices of Creation is a multigenerational choir she manifested with intention to make community and togetherness through the joy of music. Word is, she recruited the team of vocalists not necessarily by how well they could sing, but by leading with their motivations to heal, both themselves and other humans. In 2024, they released the inspired, euphoric LP titled Things Are Getting Better, a smorgasbord of gospelized funk, hip-hop, R&B, soul, jazz, and even some detours toward house, the sum of these parts a vibrant afghan of spirituality in song. Hallelujah!! as the ancestors say.
With transparency & vulnerability, Jimetta Rose ruminated on making this record (part of a larger essay found here).
“Through the writing and singing of these songs I healed myself of the doubt and mistrust of the unknown. I found a way to forge my faith into what is now a mighty sword of song, community, and ministry with the intention of healing myself and others.”
© Jimetta Rose 2024
OMA – Bread n’ Butter
This year, UK upstarts OMA were buoyed by a ten-ton boulder of momentum and gale-force winds at their back. The Manchester-based quartet repeatedly set the interwebs ablaze with raucous readings of instrumental rap heatrocks spanning subgenres, geography, and generations. Comprised of Chris Larcombe (guitar), Corben Lamb (keys, production, and mixing), Sam Heeley (drums), and James Harper (bass), the former dreampop wunderkinds reverse-engineer screwface-inducing cuts with astonishing accuracy and joyful aplomb. This surgical steez is thoroughly and potently evidenced throughout 2024 set Bread ‘n’ Butter. A dizzying blur of bangers permanently ingrained in our consciousness, it includes instrumental classics via Nas, 2Pac, MF DOOM, Ice Cube, A Tribe Called Quest, and more faves. OMA might be some fresh-faced British lads, but they sho ‘nuff know a thing or two ‘bout the golden-era of American hip-hop, and these boys will make your head bob like emergency brakes.
GREYBOY
Word on the Street
Pioneering DJ/producer at the dawn of the ’90s Stateside acid-jazz revolution. Purveyor of vintage underground currents. Ambitious architect of sample-based soundscapes. Multi-instrumentalist in perpetual evolution. All of these descriptors characterize Greyboy who, after several years away from the game, blasted back into the zeitgeist with his seventh full-length solo LP Word on the Street in June 2024. Eight emotional cuts stuffed chock full of indelible hooks and intoxicating grooves. An exercise in authenticity, this throwback tribute to the AOR, yacht-rock, and quiet-storm love songs of his youth represents a musical departure and artistic rebirth. Word on the Street ushers in a refreshing new beginning while still maintaining Greyboy’s trademark era-correct ethos.
Jahari Massamba Unit
YHWH is LOVE
Legendary West Coast producer Madlib and Detroit-based all-world musician/producer Karriem Riggins return with YHWH is Love, the second offering from their jazzy instrumental project Jahari Massamba Unit. Both men were tight friends and prolific collaborators with the late, great James “J Dilla” Yancey; and much like their dearly-departed homie, they’re renowned for prodigious production resumes and ambitious sonic adventuring. On YHWH Is Love, once again Jahari Massamba Unit delivers the groove-centric goods, a record that works in the car, the crib, at the gym, and beyond. Fertile and focused, laid back and laconic, a hybrid strain of classic hip-hop beat tape and psychedelic jams, technicolor soundscapes with telepathic interplay. An abundance of bass, keyboards, guitar, flute, trumpet, saxophone and vibraphone are expertly stitched together into tapestries that move through urbanized boom-bap, meditative African rhythms, subtle Brazilian flourishes, with delectable dalliances between. Hot tracks: “Boppin’”, “Massamba Afundance”.
Thee Marloes – Perak
“Perak is a journey from the heart of Surabaya into the spirit of the soul sound.”
Stunningly sultry, romantic Indonesian soul, Thee Marloes arrive by way of Surabaya with the dazzling combo of vocalist Ntassya Sianturi, drummer Tommy Satwick, and Sinarya Dharaka on guitar. Their debut LP Perak (Big Crown) is marvelous and exquisite, dreamy and debutante; a collection of lushly-transmitted art-house exotica painted by lusty, jazzy, brilliant brush strokes. Bulbous backbeats and burly basslines unfurl grooves infused with floating flutes, sweeping organ swells make way for arresting atmospherics. Expect chic lounge vibes, dainty dancefloor funk, and smokey, seductive balladeering – supreme serenading in an Indonesian tongue. With a dash of Daptone dopeness, maybe a sliver of Khruangbin cool, there’s no shortage of Suroboyoan soul to lure listeners into Thee Marloes’ ornate cauldron, where they quickly quench a thirst we didn’t even know we had, and thoroughly satiate our senses in rather short order. Hot Tracks: “Midnight Hotline”, “Not Today”, “Beri Cinta Waktu”.
Joe Marcinek Band
1 River Street
Guitarist/bandleader Joe Marcinek is omnipresent across the US jam/festival scenes for the past several years, renowned for assembling various ‘super-bands’ for all-star revue performances, like his popular Dead Funk Summit series. While I’ve enjoyed Joe’s onstage jamming late night in NOLA during Jazz Fest, latest LP 1 River Street is arguably the finest work thus far in his career. The diverse album unveils a smattering of styles, from funky rare groove and screamin’ psychedelic rock, to churning afrobeat and even a proper reggae. The sundry, dense document was the final project tracked at Alan Evans’ Iron Wax Studios in Western Mass. In addition to Al’s ever-choice production prowess behind the boards, the longtime Soulive drummer handled trap-kit duties with authority. Joe Marcinek’s bandmates for 1 River Street include all-world bassist Nate Edgar (The Nth Power), the ever-trusty Kris Yunker on keys, and a sturdy horn section of Brian BT Thomas (trombone), Jared Sims (sax), and Alex Lee Clark (trumpet). Captain and quarterback of this stacked squadron, an ever-humble and always-tasty Marcinek leaves few sonic stones unturned; yet the entire eight cut collection feels cohesive and organic. Hot tracks: “Carma”, “Ola Ola”, “In Memory of Iron Wax”
Rising Appalachia
Folk & Anchor
Once again, Rising Appalachia claims their rightful place and righteous space on this here annual rundown. At the top of the year, the Asheville-based soulful Americana institution announced a creative sabbatical to extend throughout 2024. Sisters Leah Song, Chloe Smith and their bandmates scaled down live performances to a precious few, and stepped back from social media in an effort to sink into themselves, their families, communities, to slow down and recharge without a ticking clock to head back on tour. Before the devastation of Hurricane Helene in late September would again reshape plans and redirect personal priorities, Rising App released the typically-magnificent Folk & Anchor, a collection of sacred covers dear to the siren sisters, delivered in their mystical, mesmerizing styles. Soaking, borrowing, adapting, and recontextualizing music that’s filled their ears and hearts from yesteryear to this day, on Folk & Anchor, Rising Appalachia unspool sensational, sensitive reimaginings of treasured tunes and folk traditions. Naturally, themes of modern social activism, civil rights, eco-consciousness, and knowledge of self rise to the surface; selections like Erykah Badu’s sultry resilience and empowerment classic “On and On”; Bob Dylan’s plea for justice “I Shall Be Released”; Woody Guthrie’s anarchist anthem “I Need a Forest Fire”; and a phenomenal romp through guilty pleasure “Texas Hold ‘Em” by the mighty Beyonce.
- Just before this went to press, Rising Appalachia and Various Artists released a collaborative Hurricane Helene Fundraiser Album titled Drenched In Place
Doechii
Alligator Bites Don’t Heal
To protect herself from the wanton terror of elementary school bullies, one morning long ago a young Jaylah Ji’mya Hickmon woke up and declared to no one in particular: ‘I’m Doechii!’. Before hearing even one word from Doechii’s latest mixtape, the cover of Alligator Bites Never Heal alone depicts a grown woman in her power: focused, fearless, and defiant. The Tampa-based emcee/vocalist first made herself known a few years back through Youtube videos recorded in her bedroom, nowadays Doechii has elevated herself into one of the more attention-stealing artists of this particular moment, and appears poised to continue on this meteoric rise. On Alligator Bites Never Heal– released via TDE – Doechii boldly leans into her voice, vocab, and chesty braggadocio, she picks potent, thumping boom-bap beats that seem the perfect anachronistic foundations to fully hold her down. Thoughout the record’s 47-minute runtime, the artist unveils her very endearing persona and undeniable star power. Amidst intuitive, personal purges dictated with resounding authority, Doechii steps into the limelight, the zeitgeist, herself and her vulnerability, done so with the confidence of a polished pop star. After a few runs through the tape, it feels like one of the few true ‘no skips’ of the calendar year. Atop heatrocks production, the raw lyricism embraces knowledge of self, quirkiness, shortcomings, yet doesn’t shy away from unabashed sh*t talking or arresting sex appeal. Welcome to the era of Doechii. Hop out, b*tch! Please act accordingly.
Asher Fulero – Worlds
Three decades deep into a prolific journey in professional sound art, Portland, Oregon’s Asher Fulero confidently traverses new musical topography on Worlds, his latest LP on Full Arrow Records. With this ambitious amalgam of hi-fidelity beat tape and downtempo IDM soundscapes, the renowned keyboardist/producer masterfully blends a minimalist indie aesthetic with copious instrumental virtuosity, resulting in a colorful caravan of nine ornate original tracks. Ever the mad scientist, Asher Fulero invites listeners into previously unexplored territories of his boundary-less imagination. The 40-minute listening lands like one Floydian excursion floating through the time/space continuum; the emotional quotient reliably rises to the surface —though never quite too on the nose, with each track a congruous chapter in service to Worlds ’ greater narrative arc. Textural moodiness permeates these patient compositions, nodding to pioneering producers like Emancipator, Tycho, Bonobo, plus legendary Chicago post-rock scions Tortoise.
Ebi Soda
Collaborations & Remixes vol.1
Born from marathon jam sessions amidst the still-exploding UK scene, Brighton-based future-jazz quintet Ebi Soda proudly embraces non-traditional approaches to creativity and recording processes, while bravely defying established industry norms and traditions. Ebi Soda identifies as jazz in the improvisational sense; innovation and experimentation are the primal modus operandi. Sonically, the band owes a debt to rave culture, nightclub dancefloors, and contemporary electronic styles. As such, on Collaborations and Remixes Vol.1, the band hands their music over to a curated crew of capable peers, including members of Monster Florence, emcee Dame, London cosmonaut Ash Walker, BODUR, J Harli, and Upful LIFE perennial fave JD Reid. UK grime, rap, drum n’ bass, garage, dub, and the avant-garde are in full effect on this searing slab of streetsoul and swagger, wrangling together talent from the ever-expanding Ebi Soda universe, pushing the envelope of their intelligent compositions with forward-thinking reimaginings and progressive production around every bend.
Hiatus Kaiyote
Love Heart Cheat Code
Three years since their critically-lauded/culturally-crowned classic Mood Valiant – and nearly a decade past shapeshifting sophomore sensation Choose Your Weapon, Australian phenoms Hiatus Kaiyote feel a bit more comfortable in their own sizable shoes, confident and focused with little left to prove. A product of informal cafe sessions and late night jam excursions, latest LP Love Heart Cheat Code is a triumph in instrumentation and songwriting. Tasteful electronic elements and analog synthesizers are organically woven into the group’s trademark obtuse, wobbly-funk foundations. Guitarist/frontperson Nai Palm remains one of the most enigmatic artists in music today; recharged and rebooted, she’s back in the saddle to raise the bar yet again. Love Heart Cheat Code was mixed by the great Mario Cadalto Jr. (Beastie Boys), revealing a certain immediacy and warmth to the sonic landscape. On their fifth full length record, Hiatus Kaiyote’s sentimentality shines through, as is their custom. Only this time, the compositions employ a less is more approach, eschewing hysteria for a bit more breathing room. There’s still some polyrhythmic jazz fusion that first put us on game, a few whiffs of post-neo-soul and the Dilla time that once caught our Tawk Tomahawk ear. We come back for the ecstatic, erratic, emotional Nai Palm purges, and quirky Kaiyote-isms galore; but the record reveals something of a new dawn and new day for this unicorn band down under. A cohesive, curated journey of magic, melancholy, mystery, and ultimately – maturity. Hot Tracks: Longcat, “Dmitri”, “Make Friends”, “Cinnamon Temple”, “White Rabbit”
Alex Unger – Personal
A sonic sorcerer based in Salt Lake City, Alex Unger is among the best kept secrets in the Stateside scene. A low-key member of the mighty all:Lo Collective, arguably the dopest sound crew in the game today. Clearly inspired/influenced by mid/late 90’s hip-hop, UK trip-hop, and smooth’d out jazzy-downtempo, Unger’s minimalist production style blends naturalistic elements, dusty samples, and organic instrumentation with the technological advances of today, a grown n’ sexy steez synthesized to a humanistic mystic brew. One could trace Personal’s genetic code all the way back a quarter century-plus to the prolific, pioneering sounds of Kruder & Dorfmeister, DJ Krush, DJ Cam, St. Germain, early Thievery Corporation. Yet there’s more than enough Be Here Now to make it Alex Unger’s own potion. On the brief, beautiful Personal, Alex Unger mines the annals; he occasionally injects just the right dose of dissociative, or some subtle low-end thump to keep the sound current and come correct. (Even though Personal is technically a 7-track EP, I slotted it in the first frame of my favorite LPs because the art has proven it is indeed that potent.)
Roc Marciano
Marciology
The Long Island, NY emcee-producer Roc Marciano been steady on his grind for nearly fifteen prolific, shapeshifting years. Ever since re-setting the underground bar with 2010 debut Marcberg, the dude has consistently dropped heat and systematically thrived in spite of various fads, trends, imitations and pretenders that have come and gone; Roc’s got the cosigns and collabs to prove it. That hood hustle continues onward and upward with 2024’s Marciology, where the rapper restates his intentions and modus operandi for the future, spitting like a boss on what pound for pound is among the finest records in his already stacked catalog. Balancing extravagance and economy like a cosa nostra Don, Roc Marci is a pure emcee and wordsmith; he effortlessly weaves together disparate characters and vivid screenplays of the mind. Intricate and intellectual tales of crime, drama, imaginary players and hardscrabble street life, the veteran kicks game with a masterful, virtuosic rhyme style, ill vocal tone, and an equal parts laconic and laser sharp delivery. Dialing up dope samples and creating atmospherics that possess an almost-psychedelic quality, Roc Marciano’s cinematic, minimalist production styles are cut from the same sonic genetics as forefathers like Mobb Deep’s Havoc, Wu-Tang mastermind RZA and his protege 4th Disciple. Also influenced by the generation of cats that came next like Jake One and Alchemist; the latter who contributes a pair of smoky, almost-drumless canvasses to Marciology (“Bad JuJu” and “Higher Self”), and then – right as this went to press – Alc and Roc surprise dropped another full-length duo LP titled The Skeleton Key to close out a massive year for both artists.
Parlor Greens
In Greens / We Dream
I’ve always been a sucker for gritty, stanky rare-groove from underground organ combos back in the late 1960’s through the mid 70’s. Organ funk of this nature is rooted in gospel and classic R&B, steadily coalescing into determined, danceable soul jazz that always resonated with both my feet and frontal lobe. On debut LP In Green / We Dream, terrific new trio Parlor Greens do a tremendous job channeling that greasy breakbeat sound, formulating a fresh take on time-honored recipes first cooked up over a half-century ago. These cats had never even met before congregating in the studio, and managed to lay down this lava in just four days. An absolute banger from front to back, 35 minutes all killer no filler; In Green / We Dream finds the three amigos masterfully approximating Hammond heroes like Jimmy McGriff, Richard “Groove” Holmes, Jack McDuff, Shirley Scott, Smiths Jimmy and Dr. Lonnie. Throughout eleven incandescent cuts – ten originals and one cover, mind-melting guitarist Jimmy James doesn’t go beserk as is his brand, instead hangin’ back a bit with razor sharp riddims and twangy comp licks, occasionally peeling off short searing solos with joyful aplomb. JJ is joined by organist Adam Scone – who proves himself a proper B3 bully, and funky drummer Tim Carman for a fantastic jazz funk voyage with instant chemistry, primal urgency and dedicated passion. Hot Tracks: “Drip Torch”, “The Ripper”, “West Memphis”, “Parlor Jazz”.
Cosmic Collective –
Jellowstoned
Anchored by husband-wife core duo Tyler and Nikki Enslow, Charlotte NC’s Cosmic Collective continued their skyward trajectory in 2024. Oscillating into a rarified air of productivity and creativity, unfurling a whopping five records this calendar year, taking a page from the preposterously-prolific King Gizzard. Arguably the finest of the bunch is the psychedelically-stimulating Jellowstoned, a dozen woozy, moody, and sometimes mathematical workouts that might make the listener snap a synapse. Some Cosmic ideas, sonic textures, movements and modulations deftly skate the cutting edge ala Belgium’s ECHT! and New Zealand’s Surprise Chef, interspersed with occasional subterranean nods towards Yodas like Herbie and Stevie, then the happy couple and co. might lick a shot into space in honor of Sun Ra. This project was tracked across two days at Butcher Brown’s Jellowstone Studios in Richmond, Virginia (hence the album title). The multifarious offering features RVA genius keyboardist/producer DJ Harrison on a few tunes (he also engineered the sessions), as well as Butcher Brown’s Tennishu on “Gravelord’s Theme”. With Enslows Nikki on keys and Tyler holding down bass guitar, there’s a mad scientist synergy palpable between these two life partners; other personnel includes DJ Prawn on synths and Trey Tarzia on drums. The sum of these precocious, peculiar parts makes for a critical combination of lysergic mindf*ckery and boundaryless future-funk.
NxWorries
Why Lawd?
In 2016, NxWorries debut Yes Lawd! Invited us to their fun, freewheeling affair, a record released in the tailwind of Anderson. Paak’s monster sophomore LP Malibu a year earlier. Producer Knxwledge seemed to plug into something spectacular inside .Paak, resulting in a somewhat juvenile yet supremely dope record, if not Malibu’s instant classic status. Eight years later, .Paak is a veritable rockstar pitching product on TV commercials, and Knxwledge has quietly grown into one of the most respected and imitated cats in the game. Their second LP Why Lawd? builds on the mystique and their mythos, while toning down the pimpadelic energy in exchange for a more grown n’ sexy mojo. The future-funk bounce and hip-hop thump level up to the max, and the boys have not lost an iota of swagger, but the storylines are more mature, vulnerable, sensitive, and endearing. The emcee/vocalist is in fine form, grappling with loving and losing, the carnage from his philandering, the realities of a player giving up the game. Sobering moments where Andy unpacks newfound understandings of affection, rejection, or just revels in the joys of f*cking.. The inebriating beats find mastermind Knxwledge harkening back to the glory days of The Pharcyde (elements of both J Swift and J Dilla), evoking sample scientists like Madlib or the late Ras G, and even takes a few tokes from the patented G-Funk strains of Dr. Dre and Daz Dillinger. Occasionally, things get real musical, with string arrangements, brass, even some low key vibraphone and windchimes. After an extended hiatus, the delightful debauched duo blast back on brand in the most bombastic of fashions; Why Lawd? unleashes 44-minutes of feelgood fire, some lessons learned, pages turned, and more than a few moments of unrepentant sex appeal. Hot Tracks: “86Sentra”, “MoveOn”, “Daydreaming”, “SheUsed”.
Pete Rock & Common
The Auditorium Vol.1
Neither Common nor Pete Rock needs much of an introduction to anybody over 35. Their East Coast golden-era hip-hop bonafides are long established and mostly impeccable. However, with both men over 50 nowadays, and hip-hop forever a young person’s game, the question remained whether they had anything relevant, interesting, or poignant to say or contribute to the landscape today. With their throwback boom-bap collab LP The Auditorium Vol.1, these fellas show n’ prove that indeed they do. And please believe, they went ahead and did the dayum thang… and how! Colour me pleasantly surprised and massively stoked! A proper one producer/one emcee project, a cohesive statement from start to finish; this platter is the product of a bygone era just like these crafty veterans themselves. Since 1992, Pete Rock’s been The Creator, his bottomless crates and jazzy buttas have never – ever – been in question, he is a master of the craft of making beats (just don’t follow him on Instagram). Common, who’s been prone to some cheesy bullsh*t himself over the years, is back to emceeing with proper braggadocio and a chip on his shoulder, reminiscing over the glory days, hurling that Chi-town heat that first won our hearts with Resurrection and Like Water For Chocolate many moons ago. The Chocolate Boy Wonder remains a genius producer in the old-school essence, forever rich in soul samples and thwackin’ cracklin’ drums. Soul Brother Number One brings his magic touch with more intelligent, meticulous, screw-face bangers . Same as it ever was. Somewhere up there, Rashid’s Pops is delivering a priestly benediction. Hot Tracks: “Dreamin’”, “Now & Then”, “Lonesome”, “Everything’s So Grand”, “Fortunate”
The Rumble
Stories from the Battlefield
New Orleans badass squadron The Rumble feat. Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr. are back again with the searing, swaggering studio debut Stories From the Battlefield, which saw the band receive a GRAMMY nomination for the second consecutive year. Rooted in the Mardi Gras Indian Funk tradition, yet incorporating elements, energies, and textures of today. Dedicated ambassadors to a sacred ceremonial culture; the group is deeply-invested in embodying and preserving New Orleans’ famed Black cultural traditions: Masking Indians, Skull and Bones gangs, Second Lines and brass bands. The Rumble has grown comfortable transmitting the greasy, steezy hometown funk native to The Neville Brothers, The Meters, Wild Magnolias, yet they are keen on establishing their own sound, voice, and vibration, and have cultivated a younger audience. The Rumble consists of vocalist/frontman Boudreaux (the son of legendary Big Chief Monk Boudreaux), trumpeter Aurelien Barnes (son of Bruce “Sunpie”), trombonist Jose Maize Jr., bassist TJ Norris, drummer Trenton O’Neal, guitarist Ari Teitel and Andriu “Yano” Yanovski on various keyboards. The band began tracking Stories From the Battlefieldd in the immediate aftermath of what was essentially their coming out party- New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 2022. They tracked together live in a room at Studio in the Country, where Monk Boudreaux and the Wild Magnolias once recorded, as did The Neville Brothers, and NOLA’s adopted son, the late Jimmy Buffett; the group put the finishing touches on at Marigny Studios, with special guest appearances from drummers Isaac Eady (Tedeschi Trucks Band) and Alfred Jordan (KDTU), and former Rumble saxophonist Gladney.
FloFilz – Handful
Berlin-based producer FloFilz is somewhat new on the Stateside radar, yet he’s been makin’ waves in the European underground from Paris to Lisbon to Brussels since 2014. With various remixes and cutty collabs, the name FloFilz seems to pop up more and more frequently on the global beats scene. Informed by dusty, jazzy hip-hop samples and headnod boom-bap drums, the latest LP Handful lives definitively in the lo-fi zone. FloFilz was formerly a classically-trained violinist, so the album serves just enough innate musicality to make these tracks more than just background sound. Handful took about two years from inception to completion, with a few weeks in summer 2023 spent at a songwriting camp in France, so FloFilz could sharpen up his tools before heading back to the lab. Clearly influenced by pioneers and experimentalists like Pete Rock, Q-Tip, Madlib, and J Dilla, this release showcases ten mostly instrumental tunes that welcome longtime comrades Hubert Daviz and Wun Two as well as some new homies in Rob Araujo, HNNY, and Gabiga. Nestled amidst these international collaborators is Handful’s lone vocalist and US contributor, the Los Angeles-based KALLITECHNIS, who laces up outlier “Magic”. While just now figuring out what/who are among this handful of folks, I’m pickin up what FloFilz and his talented friends are puttin’ down on this Casual Low Grind auditory affair.
ORGONE – Chimera
The press release accompanying ORGONE’s latest LP Chimera promises “an electrifying, dream-like odyssey, tripping through the hazy swamps of New Orleans, weaving textures of entrancing voodoo soul, thrumming Afro-funk, and stoney psych-rock.” No lies detected! The 10-track offering is their sixth on the 3 Palms Records label, and fifteenth since 2001 self-titled debut. The album title Chimera is a reference to Greek mythology, a fire-breathing she-monster with a lion’s head, a goat’s body, and a serpent’s tail. The concept posits a wildly-imaginative hybrid creature coming to life, revealing something a bit beyond what one could previously conceive. After several months of repeated spins, I do declare Chimera an apt moniker for what amounts to another chapter, or new beginning, for this beloved SoCal soul-funk institution led by co-founders Sergio Rios (guitar, producer) and Dan Hastie (keys). As is ORGONE tradition, the record uncorks a smattering of scorching instrumental excursions that will have you mean-muggin’ anybody in your path, gritty, crunkalogic workouts that can tear the paint off the wall. The bangers are again paired with a handful of phenomenal numbers boasting choice lead vocals, duties shared by longtime collaborator Terin Ector, plus Jamie Allensworth, and Mermans “Mofoya” Mosengo. In recent years, Rios, Hastie, drummer Sam Halterman and bassist Dale Jennings have been busy backing the wildly-popular R&B vocal trio Say She She, somewhat relegating ORGONE to the proverbial back burner. Chimera is solid proof that with every evolution of this band, the music continues to deliver the gritty retro-funk goods, and then some. Hot Tracks: “Peace for You”, “Parasols”, “Lies and Games”, “Basilisk”
Otis McDonald
Public Access
San Francisco-based multi-instrumentalist/producer Otis McDonald can literally do it all. In 2003, a 19-year old Otis decamped to the Bay Area, and over the years he’s established himself with a myriad of ensembles and collaborators, from local killas like Jazz Mafia, Wil Blades, and Atta Kid, to high profile projects with Eric Krasno or Aloe Blacc. Gov’t name Joe Bagale, Otis took over Studio D at famed SF spot Hyde Street in 2019, and in the interim five years has evolved into a prolific, multi-faceted creator with fans around the world. Part of this is due to his online presence; Otis McDonald hosts a popular livestream on YouTube every Friday for several years, during which the dude will build a song from scratch right before our very eyes, spontaneously and fully-improvised. It’s truly a wonder to behold, let alone watch him do it again week after week. His latest full length LP Public Access collects a grab bag of tunes sourced from select interactive sessions. Primarily instrumental hip-hop that leans heavily into greasy funk, one can hear the influences of golden-era rap producers as well as the experimentalists that followed. Bay Area bass stalwart Uriah Duffy is the only listed special guest on this seriously slappin’ affair. The Public Access concept was conceived in tandem with Joe’s cousin, visual creator John Sippel out of Detroit. Album opener “RINGS” was featured heavily during the Summer 2024 Olympic Games television broadcasts during gymnastics and basketball competitions. The entire Public Access album is available to sample/use freely as part of the Meta Sound Collection.
Upful LIFE 2024: Favorite Records & More – vol.1 PLAYLIST
More Favorite Records
Greyboy Allstars
Grab Bag 2007-23
Kali Uchis –
ORQUÍDEAS PARTE 2
Kelly Finnegan
A Lover Was Born
Ghost Funk Orchestra
A Trip to the Moon
Ezra Collective
Dance Like No One is Watching
Thee Sacred Souls
Got a Story To Tell
King Jammy’s
Unites the Nation with Dubs
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard
Flight b741
The Expert & NAHreally
BLIP & FLIP
LA LOM
The Los Angeles League of Musicians
FAVORITE EPs
Protoje
The Jamaican Situation
Parkbreezy & TF Marz
Move This Way
Peace Sine & Dova Sutra
Velvet Dreams
Parkbreezy x Thought Process
Thoughts in the Breeze
Pretty Lights
Dual Fusion Unity
[not on Spotify but too dope to leave off]
Please Support This Passion Project
upful LiFE · Favorite DJ Sets 2024
PEACE SINE
High Vibe Mix ’24
MARIA TAMBIEN
A Mix For Our Times
AKRIZA
Abraxas Dragon fundraiser
rsrch chmcls
1- All Original Headnod Set
2- Rendezvous SOSMP
NAUGHTY PRINCESS
Envision ’24 – El Circo Stage
DE:TU with Tubby Isiah
04 January 2024
JUJU
Envision Luna Stage ’24
DETOX UNIT
Rust & Sermon Afterparty
MZG presents DUPLEX!
Denver 2024
VIKEN ARMAN
Darker Than Wax 10/12/24
BARISONE
Shambhala ’24 Sunrise @ The Grove
KORA – Burning Man ’24
Lucy S. Cargo morning
KRUDER & DORFMEISTER
Heimlech #100
TEMPLE STEP PROJECT
Nevada City Ecstatic Dance
DJ DRAGONFLY
Tumbleweed Soul:
The Good, The Bad, & the Dusty
FREQ – Freq Show 009
LELAND RIVER
SWU FM Innaminds
NAUDIBLE –
Unity Gathering Poland ’24
RATCHAELBEATS
Swerve Mix #22
WESELECTS
Cruise Control vol. 6
Live at the Sand Dunes
Mfinity
Edge of the Summit 4k
LTJ Bukem
Live at Glastonbury 2023
bandito jones – Downtempo
TnF Orion ’24
SKREAM B2B MALA
Boiler Room: Denver
FYFE
Asheville Nov. ’24
OKIRO –
Shambhala ’24 Secret Garden
& Summer Solstice ’24
SOUKii- Live @ The Ground
Club Space
aTYya – Envision ’24
Prophet
Ceremonial Sound Journey v.005
FLOATING POINTS
Boiler Room NY – 7/17/24
TIPPER
Suwannee Hulaween 2024
𝕿𝖗𝖊𝖞𝖅𝖎𝖑𝖑𝖆 – Past Lives
FOUR TET
Finsbury Park London – Aug. 2024
DJ DAKINI
Euphony Forest 2024
CASTANEA
Salvage Station 7/27/24
𝔴𝔦𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔟𝔩𝔢𝔫𝔡 by .• ғ ʌ ᴠ ʀ ᴇ ʌ ᴜ •
B.HELIX – ALIVE:
(((desert downtempo)))
Parkbreezy b2b Thought Process
Red Rocks ’24
(download)
Singles, B-Sides,
& Album Cuts
Spotify Playlist – Favorite Songs ’24
Pharroh
“Gorgeous” “MOVE LIKE ANIMALS”
Morillo, Peace Sine
“Tribal Dub”
Move 78, Ayjay Nils
“The Emperor’s New Jazz”
Move 78, Aquiles Navaro, FloFilz
“D.O.T.S.” (FloFilz Remix)
Underground Canopy
“Pearl Express” (Ceylan Cut) (Barion Cut)
Clea Sol – “Fear When You Fly”
Joe Armon-Jones “Sorrow” (3 versions)
Joe Armon-Jones
“Nubya Side of Town
Wrong Side of the Rhodes”
Nigel Hall, DJ Harrison –
“Fair But So Uncool”
Nautilus, Toni-L, John Turrell
“Georgy Porgy”
Tubby Isaiah –“All Praise” (mix 2)
Numa Crew, Killa P, Long Range, Charlie P
“Love Inna We Heart”
huck.jorris x Saturna – “Promise”
Dust Diggers x Hicks – “Shibuya Sky”
Gan Gemi – “Blue Skies”
(Joe Armon-Jones Pushing Water Remix)
Butcher Brown feat. Nicholas Payton
“Montrose Forest”
JUICE, Nigel Hall, F.O.N.O,
“Black Jobs”
Gaudi, Don Letts, Damian Marley – “Dey” (remix)
Saint Sinner
“Get To You” (MFinity Remix)
Dimond Saints x Saint Sinner
“338″ (Remix)
Goopsteppa
“Return of Magic Pond Frog”,
“Of Birds & Bones”
Gone Gone Beyond w/ Trevor Hall
“Coyote“
Redman
“Don’t Wanna See Me Rich”
“Jersey”
Eric Krasno, Wax, Nigel Hall, Talib Kweli
“Higher”
40 Winks
“PAIX ENFIN“- “Peace Pulse“
Peace Sine x Moondrop
“Infinitea”
Uprise x Cornflower
“Into the Now” DnB Remix
Nitecap feat. Nigel Hall
“Love & Light“
Nautilus – “Do 4 Love”
Soul Supreme remix
MMYYKK, Session Victim
“Science“
CRIMEAPPLE –
“Heroin Jazz Tapes”
Talia Keys
“I Put A Spell On You“
Cool Cool Cool
“Made You Look“
The Motet – “Something Better”.
George Porter Jr. –
“Tito’s Dumpling Machine”
Nora Rothman, Sari Jordan
“Judy Garland”
Marya Stark & Daniel Berkman
“Forming the Venus Pearl”
Official Live Releases
Spotify Playlist – LIVE & DIRECT
Alice Coltrane
The Carnegie Hall Concert
The Yusseff Dayes Experience
Live in Malibu
Garcia Live 21 – Jerry Garcia Band
2/13/76 Keystone Berkeley
McCoy Tyner & Joe Henderson
Forces of Nature- Live at Slugs
Bootleg Gizzard – Stanford ’24
Jason Isbell & 400 Unit
Live From The Ryman Vol. 2
Frank Zappa & Mothers of Invention
Whisky a GoGo 1968
Tears for Fears
Songs For a Nervous Planet
selections & verbiage: B.Getz / Upful LIFE
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