Teki Latex’s Phenomenon Capsule Line

We’ve written about Teki Latex’s impeccable style before, and apparently we’re not the only ones who’ve noticed his propensity for colorful prep and confident quirks. Japanese men’s label Phenomenon, whose most recent line consisted of Warriors-inspired street style with a touch of pagan apocalypse, has enlisted Teki to create a capsule collection based on his personal aesthetic. He graciously sent us an exclusive sneak peek at the lookbook full of crisp polos with dandyish elements like top hats and canes combined with Pac-Man-y pop art, a characteristic blend of playful and classic. But the piece that really turned us out was this crazy Cosby-invoking cardigan with all the pieces of the line combined in one pop: what appears to be a shark (dinosaur?) polar bear (thanks dudes!) in a top hat with a cane and a monocle. Touché, Teki, touché.

Premiere: Bonjay, “Gimme Gimme (Wire Hanger RMX)” MP3

Bonjay’s forthcoming single “Gimme Gimme” is kinda like T-Dot diasporic lo-fi dancehall, singer Alanna singing slyly over a super pared down and clappy riddim before it flips out into weird and psychedelic. That drops November 20 (you can hear it on their myspace) but as a teaser, Bonjay remixed their own jam under the “Wire Hanger” moniker with a little more electronic blurbage, so that it works as a transition track for a washed out rave or soundtrack for your own personal Run Lola Run.



Download: Bonjay, “Gimme Gimme (Wire Hanger RMX)”

Video Premiere: Bobby Birdman, “Weighty Weight”

If you’re the kinda person who smokes a J like once every six to eight months, do it now and watch this slo-mo skate vid with Bobby Birdman multiplying and flickering on and off like a ghost or Donnie Darko. What’s crazy is like, you’re watching the TV, but also Bobby is INSIDE the TV. Mega meta-mind-warp. Or don’t smoke, and just get lost in his sludgy dreaminess, cozy with all the waves-crashing glory of his voice, cause it’s the kinda song that makes you sad you’re not in love.

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The Count & Sinden, “Mega (Camo UFOs RMX)” MP3

We could barely resist screaming “BIGGGG CHUNNNNE” when Toddla T dropped the original “Mega” at his Flashing Lights gig a few weeks back, and we never thought the Count & Sinden’s massive brain-thrower could possibly get any bigger. Enter the Camo UFOs’ earnest excursion in pure-ass junglism, and a song that threw our resident Brit ex-raver Chioma Nnadi for a loop when she heard these dudes live in Los Angeles and had not teleported in from the “Helter Skelter” rave at club Telepathy, Central London, 1996, which was her first rave: “I had to buy an outfit specifically for it.” What did you wear? “This cropped Adidas shirt with long sleeves and a combat skirt.” Of course, and “cropped Adidas and combat skirt” is the essence of this song, all swampy triplets, jiggling breaks, saucy sub-bass in the quasi-bridge, vocal sample so metallic and doing guttural shimmies. Camo UFOs are Mike B and Nate Day and we’re hoping this track sparks up a full-on revivalist movement with its eyes to the trippy sky. Meantime, though, download Sinden’s sick new podcast for Bodytonic over here, which includes the original and several of our top tunes of right now, cause he’s just good like that.


(Via Nicholas P. Catchdubs over at Fools Gold)

Little Jinder, “Youth Blood (Bok Bok RMX)” MP3

Last night we went to a Fuck Buttons show and, though we were mostly sober, there was one moment where this white light was shining in our eyes, the chords were so glimmering and intense, and everything was so heightened we felt like someone had dosed us. Certain music just sounds like church! The twerky funky chords in Jinder’s excellent electro-disco “Youth Blood” were already like that (sidebar, why do so many Swedes have so much soul?), but one of our fave Brit dudes Bok Bok elevated ‘em with an extra kick in the junk, extending out the warm chords for a bit then letting congos and toms fall apart like candy coming from a pinata. We can dig this and will be digging further on the 21st of November, when Bok Bok plays NYC’s Santos with Joker and L-Vis 1990 (it’s on our calendar in red sharpie with a bunch of stars and exclamation points, so see you there).



Download: Little Jinder, “Youth Blood (Bok Bok RMX)” (via Fact Mag)

Usain Bolt Adopts Baby Cheetah

Now that the New York City Marathon has ended we can all go back to doing what we do normally: obsess over Usain Bolt. The Lightning has been taking a break from JA to hang out in Kenya for a few days, where he has “already impressed local children with his football skills, and become an honorary Maasai warrior,” according to the BBC, further proving he is our second most admired jedi knight/sensai/dream date slightly after Barack Obama. But Bolt’s moved up like 18 notches on our list after his recent adoption of A. Baby. Cheetah… as part of a conservation effort focusing on sustaining the environment in Africa via the Long Run, a new campaign he is launching. Appropriately, he christened the cheetah “Lightning Bolt,” and we immediately began singing the Vybz Kartel verse “BOLT / LIGHTNING BOLT,” weirding out our coworkers for the 49th time today. Watch a dubiously edited YouTube of Bolt “beating” a less adorable cheetah in a race after the jump.

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Von D’s Bass Music Blog Mix MP3

Bass Music Blog is rad because it’s a collabo experience between a grip of hot bass/dubsteppy/purple producers across Europe, like Mumdance, Ginz, Baobinga, High Rankin, etc, on which they conduct Q&As with their compatriots and drop exclusives and whatnot. The most recent interview, with French producer Von D, not only investigates his general fromage intake (fascinating stuff), it comes with a mix of his own work that reflects his background in OG dub musics—a low-end chill out with serious futuristic irie vibes. (And there is also an as-yet unreleased Joker track on there, so holler at les dieux.)

Download: Von D, “Chacha’s Leggings Mix” (via Bass Music Blog)

Primary 1, “Foaming” MP3 (+ Weird Tapes RMX)

Primary 1 already had us at “Who’s There”, this past summer’s 3AM weed theme, as reimagined by the bol L-Vis 1990. But how didn’t we know that he made such dreamy pop jangles, almost like Phoenix’s stoned younger bro? The demo version of “Foaming” makes us want to fly a kite in the park and lie on a blanket with our lover in some JAZZ SWEATERS. It drops in limited red vinyl on November 2 on Erol Alkan’s PHANTASY records, so all you bearded dudes better cue the site up in your bloglines and get your trigger fingers psyched for clicking. The remix is a total spa jam, ultimate relaxant, with Weird Tapes sampling an erhu then sliding into mellow rave mode before pulling a total Dam-Funk three minutes in. Hey man, it’s a long song.

Download: Primary 1, “Foaming” (email sign-up required)



Download: Primary 1, “Foaming (Weird Tapes RMX)” (via PartyCMYK)

Lee Perry’s “Blackboard Jungle”: From Dub to Dubstep

Obviously the root sound of dubstep is um, dub, but this video documents legend Lee “Scratch” Perry’s transition into making actual dubstep and does a good job of showing how the genres/cultures inform each other without explicitly saying so… at least until the end when it promos Perry’s new track with FADER fave Jahdan Blakkamoore and Subatomic Soundsystem. Worth watching for great footage of Jahdan performing at Terminal 5 with Major Lazer, a brief interview with Rusko on the topic, and a very, very serious Jamaican gyal narrating. (via Dutty Artz)

Video: Zola Jesus, “Clay Bodies”

This is gothic siren Zola Jesus playing Kiki de Montparnasse in a Man Ray portrait, the only thing missing is the part where she starts crying pearls. For this shoot Zola and her video team busted into abandoned art deco locations in Detroit, including churches and zoos, so its gritty beauty is also crumbling and renegade, in the same way as her music. It’s like she’s speaking for the ghosts who haunt the buildings, finally giving voice to lost souls. (via p4k)

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