Blogarhythms

Sometimes the sheer volume (and by volume I mean number not loudness) of music that passes through my clutches (and my eardrums) is overwhelming. I came face to face with the intimidating amount of music I deal with this “holiday” weekend, which I spent cataloging new arrivals that had piled up around my desk, making notes about blogability, ripping CD’s to MP3, adjusting MP3 tags, and updating my iTunes library.

The experience gave me pause for contemplation. If I was taking the time to organize it or move it around or even thinking about blogging about it that meant it was (in my mind at least) good music. If I don’t like something I’m not letting it take up valuable hard-drive space or real estate in my apartment that could be better used and I will not hesitate to send it to the recycle bin or the dumpster in the alley behind my building.

Few records meet such a grisly fate. But not many more are lucky enough to get put on display for strangers here on Blogarhythms either. Those that do end up being featured here might get chosen because I really dig them, I’ve been playing them a whole lot, I think they’re likely to appeal to my audience for some reason, or because they genuinely stand out. And trust me, standing out amidst the near numberless good musical releases I sift though, forgetting the tons of bullshit I’m not even remotely interested in listening to, much less recommending you listen to, is a feat in and of itself.

Welcome, the debut long-player from Spokane, Washington-based DJ, musician, producer and vocoder aficionado James Pants is a record that’s somehow managed to stay perched atop the teetering, Jenga-like stacks of music in my office since I got my hands on the advance. It hits stores today. And I don’t see it falling Humpty Dumpty-style from it’s place atop my musical battlements anytime before the Summer’s end. That means it’s good. And really good at that. In fact, I think it might just be one of the better albums we’ll see released in this year 2008.

So, what does it sound like? Well, while rocking out to the Bruce Haack-esque “My Tree” during our Memorial Day non-festivities m. Cody looked up from her sewing machine and said it made her feel like “the judge at a robot twist contest.” Her interjection was apropos of an album that entwines Hip-Hop beats, Synth-Funk, Electro, Disco, neo-Krautrock and old-school lo-fi Electonica with Jazz, Psyche, Garage, Punk, New Wave and more. And my own observation about similarities to the output of seminal Electronic musician Haack was just as succinct, as I can only imagine Welcome is the kind of record he’d be making right now had he lived past 1988.

“Ka$h,” featuring the vocals of Deon Davis (a.k.a. Austin, Texas-based emcee Element7D), in particular sounds like Bruce Haack producing for N*E*R*D, if Cody Chestnutt took Pharrell Williams‘ place as mastermind and lead vocalist for the group. You can download it for free to hear what I’m talking about. It’s a similarly twisted retro-Electro-Funk/spaced-out dancefloor vibe, which recalls the work of modern hitmakers The Neptunes and the old-school output of labels like Salsoul, West End, SOLAR and the like, that provides the collection it’s animus. And it’s that spirit that gives selections like the other Deon Davis-voiced cut”Crystal Lite” (where he sounds something like a less pyrotechnic, more chemically-enhanced Cee-Lo), “I Choose You,” “You’re the One” featuring Gary Davis, “Good Things,” “Cosmic Rapp” (add a dash of Arthur Baker and a pinch of Def Jam-era Rick Rubin) and the DFA Records-ish “We’re Through” (for which Greg Carmichael and Patrick Adams need to be thrown into the mix) their unmistakable groove.

James Pants “Cosmic Rapp”

Songs like “Dragonslayer,” “Voodoo Caves,” “Prayers of the People,” “Shower Party,” “Theme From Paris” and “Green Rivers” on the other hand live somewhere in the space between Anticon Records, Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Tortoise, Battles, Morr Music, Stones Throw alumni Dudley Perkins & Georgia Anne Muldrow, and Animal Collective. While the snarly “My Girl” and “Finger On the Knife” (whose rubbery bassline and staccato vocal reminds me of The Rolling Stones‘ 1978 single “Shattered” and is one of my favorite cuts on the album) are both propulsive Punk/New Wave jams with spacey synth effects juxtaposing their lo-fi garage-recorded primitiveness.

If my housemate and I had taken time away from working to set up a grill and barbeque like “normal” Americans this “holiday” weekend Welcome (which is streaming in its entirety on Pants’ MySpace page) would have been our cookout soundtrack. And as the Summer heats up I expect discerning (and sweaty) music fans far and wide will be choosing James Pants’ opus as their soundtrack too, whether it be outdoor culinary activities, beach-going, partying, stoop-sitting, bench-warming, boom-box carrying, dancing, driving, lounging, loving, bi-pedal urban exploration or any number of other activities on their agenda.

Oh, and speaking of “Ka$h,” seeing my name pop up on random Rap blogs this weekend hipped me to the release of “Check Mate” a new video short about check cashing spots. It was put together by my Hebrew homedude Rafi and his homedude Dallas of the Internets Celebreties and features one of my beats (from the Sankofa song “The Bottom Line”) as its soundtrack! Talk about synchronicity!