The Sounds of VTech

Last month we celebrated the life of hip hop producer JDilla at Nightlife in Los Angeles. And if you weren’t there, you missed so much amazing music. The energy, the sold out crowds, the special guests that graced the stage, it was one of those nights where everything just went right.

For those who want to relive the experience, there’s no better way than by downloading these podcasts. From J.Rocc to Mr. Choc, Rhettmatic to Slum Village, it’s all here waiting for you.  And those who couldn’t make it out, the music speaks much louder than words ever could.

Right click to download: Nightlife Part 1

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Right click to download: Nightlife Part 2

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TRACKLIST:

(1) THE BEAT JUNKIES: J.Rocc, Rhettmatic, Mr Choc, & Curse
1. J Dilla Inst
2. They Call me Muddy Ranks
3. Turn Me Up Some - Busta Rhymes
4. Don’t Say A Word inst - Chino XL
5. Dedicated To The Suckas -Phat Kat
6. What Up - Busta Rhymes
7. Jay Dee Inst
8. Busta’s Lament - A Tribe Called Quest
8. J Dilla Inst
9. Jay Dee Inst
10. Dynamite - The Roots
11. Alright - The Visionaries
12. Volume 4 Intro - J Dilla
13. Game Over - Dabrye feat J Dilla & Phat Kat
14. Clap Your Hands - Guilty Simpson
15. Keep It On - Slum Village
16. Say It - J Dilla feat Taraach
17. Sweeter Than Love - J Dilla
18. Jay Dee inst
19. Last Donuts Of The Night- J Dilla
20. Get A Hold - A Tribe Called Quest
21. Act Like You Know - PPP feat J Dilla
22. Time 4 Us Is Now - Chali 2na
23. Reality TV - J Dilla feat Black Thought
24. It’s Like That - J Dilla feat Hodge Podge (Big Tone) & Lacks (TaRaach)
25. Let The Dollar Circulate - Spacek
26. 24KT Rap - J Dilla feat Havoc & Raekwon
27. Make It Fast - J Dilla feat Guilty Simpson
28. Thelonious - Common feat Slum Village
29. Let It Ride - Q-Tip
30. Time Of The Heart - J Dilla
31. Thelonius Rmx Inst - The Roots
32. Various J Dilla beat tribute - The Roots
33. Various J Dilla beat tribute - The Roots
34. Breathe & Stop Inst - Q-Tip
35. Shoop - De La Soul
36. Outro (Donuts) - J Dilla
37.Various J Dilla Beat Tribute - The Roots
38. Various J Dilla Beat Tribute - The Roots
39. Askio - Tony Allen
40. Heat  Inst - Common

(2) SLUM VILLAGE PERFORMANCE / BEAT JUNKIES
1. Intro
2. Untitled
3. Fall In Love
4. Players
5. I Don’t Know
6. Get Dis Money
7. The Look Of Love
8. Climax
9. Do You
10. Raise It Up
11. 1nce Again - A Tribe Called Quest
12. Runnin - The Pharcyde
13. Drop - The Pharcyde
14. Fever Inst - Q-Tip
15. The Heist Inst - Jaylib
16. Gone Til Its Gone (rmx) - Janet Jackson
17. Without You (rmx) - Raphael Saddiq
18. Still Shinin - Busta Rhymes
19. Peer Pressure - De La Soul feat B-Real
20. Love Junkee Inst - Dj Cam
21. Eve (rmx) - Spacek feat J Dilla and Frank N Dank

From Mulatu Astatke to J.Dilla to Arthur Verocai, the Timeless Concert Series touched upon the works of three musical giants. Mochilla is proud to announce the release date of the Timeless Concert Series, a 3-DVD box set with downloadable audio portion, as March 30th,2010.

Pre-Order Limited Edition TIMELESS BOX SET by visiting: MOCHILLA TIMELESS

The box set is extremely limited and numbered edition of 4,000. Each box set includes full liner notes, a free poster exclusive only to this box set, extra features, songs, and slideshow of images used in the original Timeless presentation. There will also be a series of events scheduled around the release date so stay tuned.

Orchestra Rehearsal for the Great American Composers performance this Saturday

Last year when B+ (Mochilla) told me that a symphony orchestra from Cedar Falls, Iowa was planning on performing J.Dilla alongside Duke Ellington, William Grant Still, and George Gershwin to celebrate Black History Month and African-American achievement in orchestral music, I thought he was pulling my leg. But sure enough, as soon as I Googled “Cedar Falls Orchestra J.Dilla,” the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony Orchestra popped up and put my disbelief to rest.

When you hear about these “creative blips” happening in the world, it makes me smile. It reminds me that people are listening, and those who can, try to the best of their ability to find a way to share. This is what this show represents to me, sharing something new that would have been overlooked by so many who have not been given a chance to judge for themselves. It’s an opportunity for the music lovers of Cedar Falls to understand and appreciate hip-hop in a whole new light, and who knows, J.Dilla might have a few more fans before the night is through.

But I still had to know more on why Dilla’s music was chosen to be performed together with such an iconic group of composers. I emailed the music director at Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony, Jason Weinberger to find out how he first came to discover the music of Dilla.

“I’ve been listening to Dilla since the beginning, before I even knew who he really was. I think I first became more directly aware of his story and persona through his work in the 90s with A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul and Pharcyde, and from there my interest just grew with each new project. If I had to pick my absolute favorite Dilla records I’d probably go with Donuts and Jaylib, though I could easily spend days on end listening to his beats from the Slum Village Fantastic albums and Common’s Like Water for Chocolate. J.Rocc’s Thank You Jay Dee mixes are always close at hand too.”

When did you first discovered Suite for Ma Dukes?

“I heard Suite for Ma Dukes when it first came out a year ago, and my first thought was that I needed to find a way to perform Miguel’s stunning reinventions of Dilla’s music. I’m always looking for ways to open up the traditional orchestra experience to new things anyway, so this seemed very natural. I looked around for Miguel on the web, found him on Facebook, and sent him a message to see if we could talk about getting these pieces in front of one of the orchestras with which I work. A few months later we met up in LA (where I’m from and where my family still lives) and connected over Dilla, Flying Lotus and Lutoslawski. The rest is history.”

And about this upcoming Saturday…

“I think one of the most special things about this weekend’s performance at the WCFSO - aside from experiencing the sheer beauty of Miguel’s orchestrations - will be the opportunity to appreciate Dilla’s achievements alongside those of other prominent African American composers who preceded him. To me it seems totally organic to hear Dilla alongside Duke Ellington and William Grant Still, and I think it’s a great way for audiences who may not be familiar with his work to get to know him.”

Progressive in his approach to music, Jason Weinberger and the WCFSO will bring Dilla to life on Saturday, February 6th in what will be an amazing evening. If you’re in the area or within driving distance, I encourage you to go. Experience Miguel Atwood-Ferguson’s beautiful crafted orchestrations and let the music pervade your senses. As much as Suite for Ma Dukes was a can’t miss for music lovers in Los Angeles, this event should be viewed the same way.

It’s music, it’s magic, and dare I say it, it will be timeless. Enjoy.

For tickets and information, click here: WCF Symphony

photos by: Noah Henscheid