Friday Feeling

Her fantastic mix tape was featured here some weeks back and now the latest and by far the greatest current female rapper returns with this stunnigly intriguing track New York, that punctuates her faultlessly rapid flow with analogy, dooms day tribal bass stabs, sparkling hand claps and all manner of sinisterly stylish background atmospheres. One of the finest rap tracks from anyone this year. 






On a very similar style and easily Haze's closest contemporary in terms of style, this tune is along a similar vibe to the above, mixing the lighthearted with the brooding and sinister to form some kind of atmospheric black comedy that reminds me of that Scene in Brassed Off where the clown tries to commit suicide in full costume. 





G. Vump aka Brodinski remixing Jon Convex', aka one half of Instra:Mental's, Fade, creating a beautifully bassey and atmospheric track, out now as part of an EP, leading into a full length release later in the year. 




One of the first tracks ever mentioned on this blog remixed by one of the latest artists featured, which seems fitting as the CloudToy Blog approaches it's first birthday. Retaining that fantastic baseline, AlunaGeroge have added a beautiful steal drum element along with all manner of other percussion to really spice it up and give it far more garagy vibe.




That explosive statement of intent was the latest release off Nas’s forthcoming Life Is Good album out this week and after the dissapointment that was The Don this splendid spittle ball of prevado and general badness has made up a whole lot of ground. Like rolling in a low slung car with Nas himself this summons up all the experiences of life in the dark, corrupt city and in being labeled Loco-Motive and featuring relevant train like samples, beautifully and retrospectively references the opening sequences of Nas’s seminal, Illmatic album. Could with ending with the beginning Nas be suggesting this is his final full length album?





With their forthcoming album beginning produced by Diplio it is of no supprise that female vocalist from Bonde De Role has a style similar to his bessy mate M.I.A. Like bringing the rhythmic bass bashes of Rio to the saloons of old time America, this has a cross cultural, ho-down feel to it and if you listen closely you can even hear the smashing of whisky glasses and the pinging of bullets off spittoons as if this very song has caused an all out bar brawl.




So much going on in this one from Holy Strays.



Like being invited for dinner with Dracula, turning up and finding out he doesn't like the taste of your particular blood type (he can afford to be fussy now he's rich thanks to the royalties from all the films and books written about him) and subsequently having a good, if slightly spooky time and leaving with your life.



We all know it but we're afraid to talk about it, ping pong is the best sport at the Olympics by far and for those as lazy as me you also know it's the best sport period, not too much exertion and with a bit of practice you can aesthetically become quite good at it. What a delight then to find that this tune by Vessel has seemingly sampled a high velocity ping pong game, i'm sweating already. 




Some dark liquid business on this double A from Fields, released on the ever consistent Utopia Music, I'm especially liking the percussion sounds on BTC, very interesting indeed.