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AUDIO: EarthEE – THEESatisfaction

THEESatisfaction - EarthEE

EarthEE, THEESatisfaction‘s sophomore LP release on Sub Pop records, is an illustration of the fluidity of the Black American perspective. Beats shift from the ancient to the vintage to the modern. Lyrics deal in the historic complexities of sexuality, race and art. The vocals of Cat and Stas show how intrinsically tied are hip-hop and R&B.

EarthEE seems committed to shaking off the baggage of centuries of skirmish for the sake of finding a higher, more redemptive groove. The best thing about this record is how self-referential it is without seeming exclusionary, something THEESatisfaction’s musical cousin Shabazz Palaces has achieved time and again. Most of us are envious outsiders — culturally, philosophically, musically — to THEESat’s particular pedigree, but the music of these two women couldn’t be more inviting.

Preview tracks from EarthEE and purchase the album over at the Sub Pop website and watch the video for “Recognition” below.

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NEW MUSIC: “Recognition” – THEESatisfaction (feat. Shabazz Palaces)

THEESatisfaction - EarthEE

THEESatisfaction have announced a release date for EarthEE, the follow-up to their official 2012 Sub Pop debut awE naturalE. Watch for the new album on February 24, 2015. In the meantime check out the first single from EarthEE, “Recognition,” a dreamy soundscape featuring fellow Black Constellation artists Erik Blood (on co-production) and Shabazz Palaces (in the mix).

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NEW MUSIC: Lese Majesty – Shabazz Palaces

Shabazz Palaces - Lese Majesty

“Herein bumps and soars Lese Majesty, the new sonic action of Shabazz Palaces.” So states the write-up concerning SP’s newest album offering (officially out today) on their record label’s website (that would be Sub Pop). If you are attuned to the dispatches of the cerebral music internet, you’ve probably already read or heard the accolades. It’s all deserved. Lese Majesty is as much a follow-up to Black Up as outer space is to the stratosphere. While Black Up hovered somewhere in the ethereality between the corporeal and the heavens, Lese Majesty takes it a step further, echoing cosmic noise from the spacetime.

Brian Greene taught us that time might just be an illusion, wholly dependent on where we’re positioned in the universe and at what speed we happen to be traveling. Our extraterrestrial counterparts, zooming through the galaxy at just the right trajectory and speed, could theoretically view the entirety of human history through a powerful enough looking glass. At times, Lese Majesty sounds like the aural document from such an excursion.

Tracks like “Forerunner Foray” and “Motion Sickness” move with greater authority than most of Black Up, which makes Lese Majesty a more exciting record, at least empirically. That’s not to say there isn’t a lot to get lost in, however. “Ishmael” is one of my favorite Shabazz tracks to date: a floating, sweeping merger of soul, rock and hip-hop that reflects the intricacies of its eponymous creator.

I’m just beginning a third spin through Lese Majesty, and so far it promises more complexity and returns than anything I’ve heard in recent months. And I haven’t even begun to dig through the lyrics. “Bumps and soars,” indeed.

 

 

 

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NEW MUSIC: “They Come In Gold” – Shabazz Palaces

Shabazz Palaces - They Come In Gold

New sounds from Shabazz Palaces means a necessary re-ordering of your earhole understanding. “They Come In Gold” is the shimmering new sample from SP’s upcoming Lese Majesty (due stateside July 29), a “7 suite, 18 track sonic mythmap of new black wave and ghetto psychedelics”. Easy for you to say, press release. “They Come In Gold” can be both a question and a statement. Adjust your cognizance accordingly.

Lese Majesty tracklist below is courtesy of our friends at Sub Pop, and more info is available here via Pitchfork.

Suite 1: “The Phasing Shift”:
1. “Dawn In Luxor”
2. “Forerunner Foray”
3. “They Come In Gold”

Suite 2: “Touch & Agree”:
4. “Solemn Swears”
5. “Harem Aria”
6. “Noetic Noiromantics”

7. “The Ballad of Lt. Major Winnings”

Suite 3: “Palace War Council Meeting”:
8. “Soundview”
9. “Ishmael”
10. “Down 155th In The MCM Snorkel”

Suite 4: “Pleasure Milieu”:
11. “Divine Of Form”
12. “#Cake”

Suite 5: “Federal Bureau Boys”:
13. “Colluding Oligarchs”
14. “Suspicion Of A Shape”

Suite 6: “High Climb To The Gallows”
15. “Mind Glitch Keytar Theme”
16. “Motion Sickness”

Suite 7: “Murkings On The Oxblood Starway”:
17. “New Black Wave”
18. “Sonic Myth Map For The Trip Back”

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DOWNLOAD: “QueenS” – THEESatisfaction

Photo via Sub Pop artist page.

There is all sorts of AWEsome (sorry, had to) surrounding “QueenS,” the recent drop from Sub Pop artists THEESatisfaction. First of all, there’s the free download of the mp3 which I just caught at this location. Second, there’s the upcoming “short film” which will be directed by Dream Hampton (!!!). And thirdly, there’s the related open casting call for “Black women, aged 21-30” in the New York City area, details of which lie here. awE naturalE is due March 27.

Click here to D/L “QueenS” by THEESatisfaction.

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LISTEN: “Lost Foundling” – Shabazz Palaces

Photo: Laura Musselman

Late wit’ it. Then again, we all know Shabazz Palaces defies time and often explanation, so f-ck it. “Lost Foundling” is a joint from the Sub Pop sampler, Terminal Sales Vol. 4: Please To Enjoy. If you’re not waiting with bated breath for May 31’s Black Up, then you must like wack sh-t.

“Lost Foundling” features drunk bass, staccato-ed waves of synth and a threat from Palaceer Lazaro to end all the mainstream rap f-ckery once and for all. I don’t believe that is an idle threat.

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