On the edge of our seats, once again, from a Family Comes First video. The first was the trailer, now the official video has kept us engaged and locked. Don’t know about y’all, but we love sitting during the suspenseful, quiet moments before the storm.
Without giving away too much, peep this hot new exclusive video from FCF.
Dope enough for you? Many other bangers are available on iTunes now in FCF’s latest album entitled “Entourage.”
FCF “ENTOURAGE”
Tracklisting For “Entourage” Album:
1. Hello (We’re Back)
2. Really Like That?
3. Be Easy
4. Patty Cake
5. Squeeze
6. Subway Cipher
7. You Know The Deal
8. Do It Better
9. Passports & Louie Bags Ft. Malcolm Young
10. Hold You Down
11. Keep It Bouncin’
12. Tippy Top
13. Love Thing
About FCF
Family Comes First; a new breed of Hip-Hop’s generation next. FCF is composed of two emcees directly influenced by the legends of Hip Hop and R&B. T-Rell, born in the Bronx, and La Kid, a New Jersey native, bring a polished and refreshing artistic smoothness to the rap game. FCF combines catchy hooks with a unique style of in & out rhyming. Not since power groups like Mobb Deep and the group formerly known as Smif & Wesson have we witnessed artists of this caliber.
Variety Lab returns with its magnificent new record Team Up!
Features collaborations with folk legend Donovan, David Bartholomé, Lisa Kekaula, Yael Naim, Lily Frost and cover art from famous French comic artists Dupuy & Berberian
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This is a diverse and super funky mix of tropicalia, electro, acid jazz and bubblegum pop with a surprise at every turn. From the vocodered disco-rock of Let’s Boogie to the sun-drenched acoustica of Mireia there isn’t a moment here that doesn’t ooze laid-back Mediterranean cool.
- Clash Magazine
Spanning multiple genres and featuring collaborations from some of the most inspiring artists in the world, Variety Lab’s sophomore album Team Up! is set up to be the most wonderful musical surprise of 2009. From the original blueprints through to the execution it’s a grand slam. Collaborations with folk legend Donovan, David Bartholomé, Lisa Kekaula, Yael Naim and Lily Frost creates a broad musical spectrum while French comic artists Dupuy & Berberian bring Variety Lab’s vision to life.
Variety Lab is the alias of one Thierry Bellia. His first CD – 2003’s Providence – gained notoriety for its lead single “London In The Rain,” which was, at the time, included in every single lounge compilation. As in the past Bellia, alone, put Team Up! together, but he did not forget to emphasize his friends’ assistance in the process. Let’s just name his henchmen from the French band Orwell (Jérôme Didelot and Alexandre Longo, aka Cascadeur and winner of the 2008 Inrockuptibles CQFD prize). Making use of his friends, instruments, machines and other weird objects (for instance the Optigan, a toy devised back in the 70’s), Thierry has worked non-stop on this project.
As for the biggest collaboration, after months of swapping tapes across the channel with Bellia, folk legend Donovan himself flew across to Paris to offer his voice and his experience to the spacious and bouncy opening track, “Is This The Last Time.” “I was delighted to be asked to join Variety Lab on their project. I flew into Paris to record. I helped to re-work the song and had great fun with the band. It’s a cool track and I am pleased to present this first single with Variety Lab. It’s a funny lyric and I brought out the humor with one of my quirky accents that I use when I take on the character in a song. It’s a perfect new pop record to dance and meet a new friend or lover,” Donovan says.
On three other tracks, “We Should Be Dancing” (the video has now been viewed over 125,000 time on YouTube), “Mireia” and the very rocky “Not Enough,” it is David Bartholomé, the lead-singer with the excellent Belgian band Sharko, who grabs the mike. And then the fantastic and frantic Bellrays’ vocalist, Lisa Kekaula, with her husky and roaring voice who sings on “Let’s Boogie,” a groovy and vocodered track that oozes sheer rock and soul energy from Detroit. The youngster Vincent Mougel from Kidsaredead comes in next to blow some sugary foam on the sweet candy that is “Soda Pop Confusion,” while Thierry’s fellow Nancy-born Mona Soyoc naturally joins the project as a next-door neighbor, and adds some sensuality to the very eighties “Money,” a cover version of the track by late 70s-early 80s English band The Flying Lizards, who had themselves borrowed it from the soul crooner Barrett Strong. Next, Canadian songstress Lily Frost croons over the lush, crackly ballad “This Parade” before 2008 pop sensation Yael Naim closes the album with her version of “Love Is A Bird;” originally a Variety Lab demo that has gradually evolved, first in the expert hands of Cascadeur, then by David Bartholomé on a Sharko album. “Love Is A Bird”, a simple, and beautiful idea, that leads us strolling from one end of Team up! to the other, filled with a feeling that can be summed up as the more, the stronger, the prettier and the merrier.
Team up! is more than a mere album – Much more. It is like awaking from a soft dream.
Variety Lab “Team Up!”
Tracklisting
01 – “Is This The Last Time?” (feat. Donovan)
02 – “Money (That’s what I Want)” (feat. Mona Soyoc)
03 – “Which way to go (Reprisa)”
04 – “We Should Be Dancing” (feat. David Bartholome)
05 – “Soda Pop Confusion” (feat. Kidsaredead)
06 – “This Parade” (feat. Lily Frost)
07 – “Hola Mireia”
08 – “Which Way To Go”
09 – “Mireia” (feat. David Bartholome)
10 – “Let’s Boogie” (feat. Lisa Kekaula)
11 – “Not Enough” (feat. David Bartholome)
12 – “Love Is A Bird” (feat. Yael Naim)
Last Wednesday Jimmy Edgar dropped his record, Funktion EP (available here for full preview and purchase in both digital and vinyl) on the new label co-run by Richie Hawtin’s M-nus corporation, ITEMS&THINGS. Edgar’s style on this release is fashionable with nice vocals from Edgar (as usual), while also being reminiscent of the classic rave scene, with an interesting modern twist. For any longtime electronic music scene fans, the second track of four, “Young Thing,” is a must with its acidic/tb303 feel.
One of our favorite things about the exquisite production of Jimmy Edgar is the fact that his melodies and rhythm are so uniquely his. Love his musical ability and hearing how he combines a banging, electronic dance floor sound with catchy, very human feeling synth jams. We’ve seen many changes from Edgar as he has developed as an artist, but one thing is for certain: he is unstoppable with whatever instrument he touches.
Jimmy’s favorite DJ from Detroit, Magda, lets this one go on her label (with partners RunStopRestore) and will sure be one of the sweat sexed designs of ‘09 to hit & bloody the dancefloor. “Funktion of your Love” features two remixes, one by Seth Troxler and a rare acid washed Plus Device affiliated B-side called “Young Thing”. The main track is instrumental and although the vox didnt make the cut, we will be releasing that version for free shortly after it comes out.
“Funktion of your Love” has gone through a plethora of generations including a cover by New Look (Adam Pavao & Sara Ruba). Its origins lie in a vocal pop track by Jimmy which is featured on the creatively delayed ‘Deeper’ LP which is still in production and looking to see the light of day this Autumn 2009.
Jimmy Edgar once again embarks on a late September 09 European tour. Contact littlebig Agency to book DJ Jimmy Edgar or his new EUROvision Live performance as we are looking for more cities to infiltrate. Some cities include Riga, Berlin, London, Hamburg, Vilnius and more.
If you want Jimmy, contact a promoter to contact his people.
Big Dada are enormously proud, pleased and cat-that-got-the-cream-faced to announce that last night Speech Debelle won the 2009 Barclaycard Mercury Prize for Album of the Year for her record “Speech Therapy”. With stiff competition from the likes of Florence + The Machine, Friendly Fires and Bat For Lashes, Speech’s confidence never wavered and she came through with the kind of aplomb which made it seem like she’d been walking red carpets for years. We, meanwhile, jumped on the tables, spilt drinks and partied with little thought for the feelings of the great and the grey of the UK music industry gathered around us. So today, nursing gigantic hangovers, we raise a glass of alkaseltzer to the Mercury Prize organisers, the panel of judges, all our supporters out there and most of all the Speech herself! Salut!
Danna’s friend, Um is that Pixie? I don’t even know.
The Summer has been a non-starter here in Scotland. It hit me pretty hard the other day when my vitamin D deficient face looked out the window for another overcast day in the lab. But it’s kinda beautiful in its own way and it adds extra meaning to songs that can normally coast over you. Me & Fine Art made three tapes this month – one for Dazed, one for Nalden and this one here was just sorta labour of love with some really weird shit ( verging from new Hudson Mo to modern classical, fusion, 90s rnb & soul ) to bring some balance and new meaning to a Summer of dreich ( Scottish for shitty weather ).
oh hell no – no track listing this time.
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Danna’s friend, Um is that Pixie? I don’t even know.
