BochiCrew

Thanks go to Honest Management for making this post possible. Included today is the stream as well as download link (thanks to HM again) of Out the Vault from Rashid Hadee. Out the Vault is an amalgamation of unreleased tracks from Rashid. I hadn't heard Rashid prior to this release but have quickly been converted. I generally find myself irritated by a lot of the rap I hear but the smooth, crafted backing beats and orchestration begged further listening. In addition to being a phenomenal beat smith, Rashid slays each track with his fiery tongue and lyricism. Out the Vault starts out swinging with "Gotta Rise" before landing consistent blows with "The Cost of Living" and "So Amazing" and finishing strong with "Hit the Hood." Also noteworthy is Rashid's album Aural Sex: The Search for Pinky Tuscadero . His creativity comes across again but this time through the medium of film. Rashid and Honest Management put out an ac...

Up early after what concludes a bizarre and exhausting but fun Thanksgiving week. Shuttling around the cities has worn me down and as a result all I wanted to hear this morning were some mellowed out tracks. Citing influences such as Sigur Ros, Fleet Foxes, and Bon Iver, Wilderness ended up being who I needed to hear. These guys are a talented 5 piece based out of Brisbane, AU. In addition, to Sigur Ros and Bon Iver, I can't help drawing some similarities between Message to Bears (check out the post ). The two tracks included for your enjoyment are "Child of Day" and an acoustic demo titled, "Run." The former begins with an eerie "Glósóli"-esque instrumentation before launching into mellowed out strings, guitar and vocals. The latter is a simpler track that highlights the vocal talent and breadth of Wilderness. These two tracks progress solidly and I think what has got me hooked most is my soft spot for string instruments (check out the end o...

I don't usually dabble in trap music or dub step of any kind (hard, soft, chill,...) but today the norm is being broken with producer Mark Kill. Originally hailing from Canada before settling in Hollywood by way of Orlando, Mark Kill strikes an interesting balance between trap and feel-good dance pop. (He has titled the combo as TrapPop). The seamless tempo changes brought me to the floor. It is such a unique take on Youngblood Hawk's "We Come Running." I don't understand how Mark has done it but the end product is something that doesn't remotely resemble the original product but brings so much more to the table. This would not be a bad track at all to just loop on Saturday night, it has a feeling of invincibility permeating throughout. I don't think Mark will make it out to Iowa but I hope to grab a live show at some point as his shows are marked by the unconventional combo of his backing tracks and live guitar. Mark also runs a pretty damn goo...

For one reason or another I am more excited for Thanksgiving than I have been for a long time. Thanksgiving has always seemed like warm holiday best accompanied by folk music to me. Accordingly, today's post highlights the warmest musician I can think of, Anaïs Mitchell. I saw her around this time two years ago and what stayed with me from the show was the song "Shenandoah." Mitchell continues to be the artist I return to when I want a combination of inventive lyrics and warming guitar. Enjoy the company of close friends and family, there aren't many other holidays like Thanksgiving. Anaïs Mitchell - "Shenandoah"

Milwaukee will always be home no matter where I am living. With this said, I bring you the Milwaukee-based electro-soul duo, Kiings. I love the no frills backing beat that supports "Explain Myself" that mesh seamlessly with the vocals. Available at name-your-price at bandcamp . The cover art of the Chicago L has me looking forward to winter and "Explain Myself" is exactly what I want to be listening to once winter hits. The accompanying video is shot throughout Milwaukee and highlights a variety of sites throughout the city. Shout out to Radio Milwaukee for originally featuring Kiings on Rhythm Lab with Tarik Moody. Keep an eye out for an the upcoming release of an EP. I will not be surprised at all if this track and Kiings get a lot of hype. Explain Myself by kiings

Returned to my apartment after what had been a great night to be greeted with the track "Born Bad" in my inbox. Bago sure has some damn pipes and can belt it. The verdant background instrumentation combines with her voice to create an eerie landscape; close yours eyes and you are instantly lost in it. Upon first listen I liked the track but was not an instant fan. Listening to it three more times before going to sleep however quickly changed my position. On that fourth listen it all fell into place. I headed to Bago's tumblr to find out some more about her and was greeted with this: "Music for the screwed, blued, tattooed. God bless you because I can't." That tag feels so fitting while listening to "Born Bad." Her gritty video for "Dr. Lock" is also posted below. The planned January 2013 release of a new EP has got me looking forwards to winter.

As promised the weekly set list will be posted for Grinnellevance here on Bochi Crew. If you didn't get the last memo, KDIC 88.5 fm if you are in Grinnell, IA. If not stream it here . EVERY SUNDAY AFTERNOON 4 - 5 CENTRAL TIME. This past Sunday we had the privilege of having both Davy and Peter Rothbart in studio for an interview. Davy and Peter are on a 79 city tour across the U.S. promoting Davy's new book "My Heart is an Idiot" in conjunction with FOUND Magazine's tenth anniversary and Peter's new CD, You Are What You Dream . For those unfamiliar with FOUND it is a fantastic collection of found notes, to-do-lists, letters, drawings, you name it that either Davy or fans have found. The amount of and ludicrous nature of the material in FOUND makes you wonder what the fuck Americans are thinking when they write this stuff down. The hour passed all too quickly and had to be my favorite show that we have done this year. The Rothbart broth...

Lately I have found myself listening to a lot of instrumental hip hop tracks. What I like in particular about the tracks is that I could easily see someone rapping over the tracks while at the same time I am perfectly content listening to them as what they are. The first and probably most accessible tracks come from Glasgow-based producer S-Type. The next tracks come from Desmond Cheese. I think their Soundcloud bio sums it up pretty well, "Desmond Cheese - the pungent product of a long term collaboration between two finely aged producers, Makcheese and Desmond Bagely. These Brissie beatsmiths are out to change your perspective on hip hop, dairy products, and life in general." Air France's edit of St. Etienne rounds out the track list. Though not purely instrumental, I could still see it being reworked yet again into some hip hop track in the future.

Back in early September I wrote about UK film producer-turned musician Oliver Gale, otherwise known as Blue Boats. Gale is back with the track "I Am the Only One." Similarly to "Summer's Down," "I Am the Only One" delivers the bright guitar and characteristic vocals of Gale. However, his new track is much more mellowed out and does not pick up in tone or tempo until the final moments. I continue to be impressed with the production quality of Blue Boat tracks. It just goes to show that an official studio isn't necessary to record and that a bedroom or basement will do just fine. "I Am the Only One" also reminds me a lot of our last post featuring the Swedish group Postiljonen. Keep a lookout for both of these groups and head over to both groups Soundcloud's. On an unrelated note, I am not sure how I neglected to do this earlier but please contact Bochi Crew at bochicrew@gmail.com with suggestions of new or old or any mu...

I have been going through a huge Swedish binge right now, only rivaled by the Icelandic binge I took upon first learning of Sigur Ros several years ago. This spree all started with my exposure to jj, an extremely inventive and talented Stockholm based dream pop duo who love to recycle American hip hop lyrics. Check out "Let Them" below which makes use of T.I.'s "Let 'Em Talk." This spree also led me to the Swedish record label Sincerely Yours. Sincerely Yours houses jj as well as Air France, and Sail the Whale. However. the main focus of this post is the Swedish group Postiljonen. Comprised of two Swedes and one Norwegian, Postiljonen creates a memorable, touching, relatable and infectious song with "How Will I Know / All That We Had is Lost." Though a distinctly sad song lyrically, I find myself pulling a bizarre joy from the somber song. Could be that the instrumentation is so well done that it overrides the sad, longing content. I...