Tone Tank & Scott Thorough Release Video for "Chip On Your Shoulder" // Show at Southpaw on Sept. 16th

Nuclear Family members Tone Tank (Iller Than Theirs) and Scott Thorough are releasing a seven-song collaboration CD at a record release party at Southpaw on Sept. 16th and all attendees will a hand-painted copy of the new disc.

Tone and Scott just released the first video from the new disc. “Chip On Your Shoulder” is off the new record, Scott & Tone which will be out September 10th on Modern Shark, featuring guest appearances from Serengeti, Kool A.D. of Das Racist, and Mercury The Maroon.



The record release jam is planned for Thursday, September 16th at Southpaw in Brooklyn. Along with Tone Tank & Scott Thorough, the night will feature performances from Junk Science, Serengeti, Safe, and Dillon, and DJ sets from Chances with Wolves.

Links:
Modern Shark
Tone Tank

Tone Tank & Scott Thorough (Nuclear Family): Album Release Party at Southpaw on Sept. 16th

DOWNLOAD: Scott & Tone - "Crack Selector" (featuring Kool A.D.)

Nuclear Family members Tone Tank (Iller Than Theirs) and Scott Thorough are releasing a seven-song collaboration CD at a record release party at Southpaw on Sept. 16th and all attendees will a hand-painted copy of the new disc.

Two of the tracks have been made available as free downloads in advance of the album release. Here is the background on "Crack Selector": Tone Tank and Kool A.D. met while Tone was building props for a video shoot. Tone helped to purchase red ladies boot-sneakers that Kool A.D. ended up loving and wearing around a lot. Also, Kool A.D. was on Ecstasy that day and was all touchy-feely and Tone was like “Yo, why’s this fucking guy touching me!?” Somewhere between then and making this song, Tone realized that dude is a really funny guy and that they should do a song together.

Scott Thorough had made the beat a while back, and after him and Tone heard “Fake Patois” by Das Racist, they decided that it would be the perfect beat for a sequel to that song.

Sharing the bill at the Southpaw show are Junk Science, Serengeti and Safe.

Links:
Modern Shark
Tone Tank

Instant Cities Releases Two-Song Single as a Free Download on Baje One's Modern Shark Label

DOWNLOAD: Instant Cities - "Tender Moments in the Funny Part of Town"

Baje One (Mikey Shark) from Junk Science/Nuclear Family releases a new two-song single from Instant Cities as a free download.

Instant Cities is Eamon Hamill, once of Hoboken, now of Prague, who makes music with an assemblage of machines which will eventually become sentient and destroy everything good he’s sought to create.

The evolving musical style takes elements from folk, hip-hop, motel-lounge crooning and various electronic genres, and is possibly best described as “those experiments which haven’t gone wrong”. The lyrics often feature hazy narratives in surreal, half-remembered cityscapes and joyful rants about the fraying of societal fabrics. The overarching idea behind Instant Cities is to make music that reflects the universal beauty and paranoia of urban places.

Basically, Mikey Shark (Baje One) went to Prague and got his old high-school friend Eamon drunk and now “Tender Moments In The Funny Part of Town” and “Coping With Shed Fires” are out on Modern Shark, with other long-titled songs to follow.

Links:
Instant Cities

Junk Science (Nuclear Family) and Mr. Lif Play The Studio @ Webster Hall on April 11th

DOWNLOAD - Junk Science: "Running Shoes" (MP3)

Def Jux artists Junk Science and Mr. Lif are playing a show on Saturday at The Studio @ Webster Hall. Both artists are respectively finishing work on their third albums, which are due out later this year, so I would expect that there will be a good mix of old and new material played at the show. Doors are at 8PM and tickets are $15 dollars.

Junk Science, which features emcee Baje One and DJ Snafu, released their second disc, Gran'Dads Nerve Tonic, in 2007. One of the highlights from the disc was the ultra-catchy single "Hey". Junk Science's new disc, A Miraculous Kind of Machine, is due out later this year on Embedded Music.



Boston's Mr. Lif is a long time member of the rap group The Perceptionists, along side Akrobatik and DJ Fakts On. He is currently preparing for the release of his third solo LP, I Heard It Today, which coming out on Def Jux Records on April 21st.



Links:
Junk Science's MySpace profile
Mr. Lif's MySpace profile

Jah-C (from The Project) Releases Advance Track from Upcoming EP

Jah-C, from The Project, released an advance track from his forthcoming Soul Banger EP, "Soul Banger Remix", as a free download. This track features Baje One (MC from Junk Science), Scott Thorough, MC-K-Swift, Stimulus and Cavalier.

This is a cool old-school track but what's even cooler is that all the proceeds from the release are going to the non-profit UrbanWord NYC. UrbanWord "provides free and uncensored writing and performance opportunities to youth in all five boroughs of New York City. Our workshops are designed to develop critical thinking skills, leadership, and to ignite a personal commitment to growth and learning which leads to heightened in-school performance, and a greater interest in pursuing higher education."

Jah-C's Soul Banger EP will be released on Coalmine Records.

Iller Than Theirs Post Two Previously Unreleased Tracks To Their Blog

Brooklyn's Iller Than Theirs posted two previously unreleased tracks from their debut CD to the band's blog. It is pretty cool that the band put both tracks up as free downloads.

Both Soki Doki (which features J. Howells Werthman) and Diamond Grenades (which features Probe) are complete songs and fully produced.

Here is what the band posted about these songs:
"So when you put together an album of songs you can't include everything you've done. So first you try to include all the "best" stuff. But sometimes you have to leave out really good songs because they don't fit neatly into the larger work. For instance the song "Diamond Grenades" always seemed like a grand finale to close the album. But then we made "Wash, Rinse, Repeat". We couldn't have two Epic endings: so we cut Diamond Grenades. But it's still an awesome song so too is "Soki Doki"

Iller Than Theirs Play Mercury Lounge on April 17th/CD Review

One of the CDs that should have been on everyone's "Best of 2007" list is the debut disc from Brooklyn rappers Iller Than Theirs. The band is composed of rappers Tone Tank and Krayo (along with beats from Scott Thorough and DJ Snafu) who are all part of the Nuclear Family collective. The band is playing at Mercury Lounge of April 17th as part of an Embedded Records showcase.

Iller Than Theirs combines a wicked sense of self-depreciating humor with social commentary on everyday life. All of the is backed by some wicked beats. I'm a tough critic of rap bands as I expect both great vocals and great beats and this CD has held up to repeated play.

Before jumping into a review of the CD, I've shown this live video (of Iller Than Theirs @ Southpaw) to a number of friends and they have all come away with the comment "wow, they are really good".



Iller That Theirs' self-titled CD is about two guys from Brooklyn (the homeland) trying to 'make rap and make rent' in a city that is rapidly gentrifying. This theme runs beneath most of the songs. "Razor Bumps" is about people who pretend to be cool ("too fly to fart"), "To Be Ill" is about people who want something for nothing ("Everyone want a dog but no one want to walk the thing") and "The Same" is about Ratner's gentrification of Brooklyn and the Atlantic Center area.

"The Same" also features guest vocals from Masta Ace (from the Juice Crew). Kray gave an interview to Underground Report where he talks about some of his influences as "indie Hip Hop stuff that started coming out in the mid-'90s: [Company Flow], Fondle 'Em, Stones Throw, Quannum, early Rawkus stuff...The do it yourself spirit of those records were in stark contrast to the huge over-sized hyped up corporate mega-stars of today. You can make art without money behind it - and it can be even better than the big-budget bullshit." Iller Than Theirs is really a throw-back to the raw, honest DIY rap that came out of NYC in the 80's and early-90's.

On this disc, Tone and Kray tell it like it is - no hype and no phony bravado. This disc is essential listening...I know rap isn't in vogue in the mainstream but Iller Than Theirs has the both talent and the heart to break out of the underground.

Check 'em out at the Mercury - It should be a great show.

Junk Science (Nuclear Family) Host Gran’Dad’s Nerve Tonic Beer Release Party

Junk Science (featuring BAJE ONE and SNAFU from Nuclear Family) are hosting a beer release party at Bierkraft in Brooklyn on Monday, October 15th.

While most bands have a CD release party, Junk Science and Six Points Brewery are celebrating their jointly brewed beer, "Gran’Dad’s Nerve Tonic" Beer (Sixpoint GNT), which was brewed on August 29 at Sixpoint’s Red Hook-based brewery. The fruits of their labor will be for sale exclusively at Bierkraft in 64-ounce growlers (just a little less than a six-pack worth of beer) until the limited supplies are gone. Each $16.99 growler will come with a free copy of the brand new Junk Science CD “Gran’Dad’s Nerve Tonic”.

In the spirit of Sixpoint’s brewing ethos and Junk Science’s sophomore album effort, the “Sixpoint GNT” represents a mash-up of beer styles – an extremely malty and hoppy beer with an 8.0% ABV and a reddish hue. It is also Sixpoint’s first beer brewed exclusively for a retail beer outlet.

Both the band and members of the Sixpoint brewery team will be on hand at the party. The party starts at 6PM and Bierkraft is located at 191 Fifth Avenue in Brooklyn, NY.

Check out this video of the band with the Sixpoint brewery team brewing the beer.

The official CD release party for Junk Science's new CD is October 19th at Music Hall of Williamsburg and the band will be playing with EL-P.

Links:
Junk Science's MySpace Page
Sixpoints Brewery (Note: site under construction)

Iller Than Theirs - Exclusive Interview & Video Release Party

Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of speaking with Kray and Tone from Iller Than Theirs. The band has their debut CD coming out later this month and is having a record release party at the Mercury Lounge on September 29th. I got an advance copy of the CD (CD review to be posted shortly) and it has some infectious beats and killer vocals.

I really enjoyed talking to Tone and Kray as their purpose/mission is really simple and straightforward. They are two old-school Brooklyn guys trying to keep it real in a borough that has probably seen more changes in the last few years than it has in last decade.

Iller Than Theirs is having a video release party at Southpaw on Wednesday for the video of the leadoff track from the new CD "Razor Bumps". Kray La Soul & Kool Kear will also be spinning 45s all night. The first showing of the video will be promptly at 9:30 and doors are 8PM.

I think Wreck Room nights at Southpaw are free but call the club in advance to confirm.

Here is a direct link to an MP3 of the interview I did with Tone and Kray and here is a link to the RSS feed.

Links:
Iller Than Theirs' MySpace page
Iller Than Theirs' Blog