The Sounds of VTech

On Friday, the crowds were out in droves with open hearts and open minds to experience a night of amazing music. And what a line-up VTech and Mochilla had in store for that evening!! Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, the young musical genius behind “Suite For Ma Dukes” and his ensemble, DJs Madlib, B+, and Coleman, and last but not least, the headliners, The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble. 

One by one as each act took the stage, the crowd cheered them on with equal enthusiasm. From Madlib’s spacey set inspired by Sun Ra which featured a lot of new music to Miguel and his amazing group of musicians, the nods of approval from the audience could be seen by everywhere.  And before we knew it, it was time for the musical brothers from Chicago to take the stage. With their infectious upbeat hip-hop influenced sound, the HBE came out of swinging, and the crowd was enthralled. Among the scores of admirers who were there to bear witness to it all were musicians Flea, the bassist from Red Hot Chili Peppers, Phil Ranelin, American jazz and experimental trombonist, MF Doom, MED, and more. And though the HBE performed an amazing live set, living up to their well-deserved hype,  one moment stood out from the rest. Miguel Atwood-Ferguson returned to the stage to perform “Scrabble,” a song in tribute to Dilla, with the HBE, and the energy in the Echoplex was electric.

It is truly incredible to think that in one evening you had kids cheering for a viola solo, a DJ set and a brass ensemble all in same setting. It’s moments like that fill me utter and complete joy that real music is still being created, performed, supported, and most of all, appreciated by fans new and old.

Thank you Los Angeles, Mochilla, Miguel, Madlib, B+, Coleman, the HBE, and all the fans who come out to our events. We couldn’t have done it without you.

*photos by Mike Park

MF DOOM

MF Doom (photo by B+)

Daniel Dumile, better known as MF DOOM (DOOM), is a British born American hip hop artist. Born in London, England, he moved with his family to New York and raised in Long Island. Under one of his many pseudonyms, Dumile has release several albums and appeared on collaborative projects with artists such as Danger Mouse and Madlib.

Here under the name Metal Fingers, he samples Arthur Verocai’s Seriado in his song, Passion Flower.

The many faces of DOOM: 

DANIEL DUMILE: The man behind the masks. 

ZEV LOVE X: Lead rapper with KMD (that’s a positive Kause in a Much Damaged society if you squint from the right angle), whose black power-meets-Daisy classic Mr Hood kaused… sorry caused… a fraction of the damage it deserved. 

MF DOOM: Only the warm, softly-spoken voice (now descending into an alcoholic slur) remains as he re-emerges in 1997 as Metal Face Doom with a head full of comic books, wearing a mask over his face and bearing eccentric LPs for the Fondle ‘Em label. Ditching every last vestige of his KMD past, he abandons raw funk and skewed jazz for tinny beats at un-danceable tempos, while playful narratives give way to scatter- gun surrealism. 

KING GEEDORAH: A 500-foot tall three-headed lizard inhabiting distant galaxies. Unable to visit earth for fear of the widespread panic that might ensue, he channels his philanthropic message through MF Doom. Quite why he chooses a mask-wearing loon as a conduit rather than a more credible witness like, say, respected news- reader Trevor McDonald or cosmologist Stephen Hawking, isn’t fully explained. 

VIKTOR VAUGHN: Though also derived from Marvel Comics’ Vic Von Doom, VV is a very different MC from MF. Younger, more villainous, street-smart and battle-ready, last year’s brilliant Vaudeville Villain album is an unstoppable romp through street crime, open-mic nights and voyeuristic sex. More funny ha-ha than funny weird. 

DOOM’S LIFE IN FIVE PARTS … ONE OF OURS: Daniel Dumile was actually born in London, but he emigrated to New York before he could talk. Still, with only Slick Rick to compete with in the Anglo-American rap list, he should he claimed for the UK the minute he steps back onto British soil. 

DEATH OF SUBROC: KMD’s debut album, Hr Hood, was evenly divided between angry 5 Percent diatribes (”Nitty Gritty”) and goofy Tribe-like novelties (”Peachfuzz”). Although both were released as singles, the group resented Elektra marketing them as fluffy Native Tongues, not men on a militant mission. With a darker second album in the can their mood wasn’t helped when Subroc, Dumile’s brother and KMD DJ, was killed in a car accident. A decade on the wound hasn’t healed and when Sleaze tried to discuss KMD’s tragic demise the interview was abruptly terminated. 

BL_CK B_ST_RDS: Already uneasy with the gurgles of black separatism emanating from KMD’s second album, Elektra threw the baby out with the bathwater when they saw the sleeve. The black sambo character, which had been crossed out on the Mr Hood cover in a denunciation of racist stereotyping, was now being hanged n the manner of the kids’ word game. KMD and the label parted company. Zev Love/Dumile disappeared, rumoured to be suffering from depression, fuelled by spiralling drink and drug abuse. 

REBIRTH AS MF DOOM: Oddly, he really found his voice when it deteriorated. Dooms early records are slurred, arryhythmic and blissfully unaware of such rules as scanning. But this gave him a peculiar freedom to make records no one else would even contemplate. Now that he’s re-developed something resembling a proper (if still unique) flow matched to lyrics so damn sharp you need a week to take them in, Doom is making the best records of his life. 

Another 9th Wonder sample of Verocai

Little Brother’s song, We Got Now on The Minstrel Show cd  uses Verocai’s song, Caboclo

Catch the man behind the music, Arthur Verocai, this Sunday, March 15th, 2009 for Timeless III presented by VTech and Mochilla 

Sunday, March 15th, 2009
7-11pm / All Ages / $22.50 Limited Presale / $32.50 After
*Presale Tickets Available @www.ticketmaster.com and
The Luckman Box Office +1 323 343 6600
(Please keep in mind that these are assigned seating events - in order to sit together you MUST purchase your tickets together - to view seating chart please go http://luckmanarts.org/seatingchart.php)
*Presale + early arrival is STRONGLY suggested*

This Sunday, March 15th, 2009, VTech with Mochilla are proud to present opening DJ sets by Madlib and DJ Nuts. A can’t miss opportunity for hip hop lovers, Brasilian funk feelers , and down and dirty crater diggers.

MADLIB

Madlib (photo by B+)

From the unlikely beach town of Oxnard, 40 miles north of Los Angeles, the multi-dimensional Madlib quickly rose to prominence as one of the most interesting figures in late-’90s hip-hop. With his childhood buddies in the Lootpack, Madlib quickly made a name for himself as a rapper, producer, and DJ. In particular, his expansive style and deft touch for composition made him one of hip-hop’s most sought-after producers. An enthusiastic crate digger, with a deep reverence for jazz and soul, Madlib branched out into a number of ambitious, engaging solo projects.

Along with DJ Romes and Wild Child, Madlib formed the Lootpack in their hometown of Oxnard. The trio made their debut on tha Alkaholiks’ 21 and Over in 1993. They continued doing work for tha Alkaholiks and other artists before releasing their full-length Soundpieces: Da Antidote six years later. The album earned solid reviews but went largely unnoticed. Madlib did not, however. After hooking up with Los Angeles DJ Peanut Butter Wolf, Madlib did a lot of production for Wolf’s Stones Throw label. In 1999 the label released Quasimoto’s astonishing The Unseen LP. Doubling as himself and his alter ego Quasimoto, Madlib handled vocals and production duties on the album, a huge critical success.

Not resting on his laurels, Madlib followed The Unseen a year later with his Yesterday’s New Quintet project. Madlib played all the instruments himself, infusing his exploration of jazz with both style and substance.

While continuing on with a massive release schedule and work load, Madlib completed a remix/reinterpretation project for Blue Note, a collaboration with Jay Dee under the Jaylib alias, a collaboration with MF Doom, produced 1/2 of fellow Lootpack member Wildchild’s solo record and many other remix and producer tasks all in 2003.

Never one to slow down, the next few years brought a myriad of new releases, including Jackson Conti’s Sujinho, a collaboration with Azymuth’s Ivan “Mamao” Conti, who will be playing drums at Verocai’s L.A. debut this Sunday. 

With each year Madlib has continued to expand his abilities beyond the core hip hop that he is known for.

“I could listen to that (Arthur Verocai) album everyday for the rest of my life”  - Madlib

www.myspace.com/madlib

DJ NUTS

DJ Nuts

DJ Nuts is the foremost turntablist living in Brasil today. His skills mixed with the depth of his crates makes him unique in his home country. As a youngster in the late eighties he became fascinated by the burgeoning Sao Paulo hiphop scene. Graduating from the school of “Yo MTV Raps” - he began Djing under the tutelage of Macello 2the Bone (producer of Racionais MCs) in 1991. In 2000 he became the tuntablist champion of Brasil. As a producer he was done albums for Marcello D2 (Sony Music) as well as working with Brasilian music legends Gilberto Gil, Planet Hemp, Joao Donato, Trio Mocoto, O Rappa and Dom Um Romao.

In 2002, DJ Nuts was a tutor at the Red Bull Music Academy in Sao Paulo. He became the main consultant and DJ for Brasilintime: Batucada com Discos- the Mochilla sequel to Keepintime,  on the relationship between Brazilian music of the 1970s and hip hop and funk. 

„Em 1972 falaram que ele estava maluco… sua musica é agora.” - DJ Nuts 

www.myspace.com/djnuts

Sunday, March 15th, 2009
7-11pm / All Ages / $22.50 Limited Presale / $32.50 After
*Presale Tickets Available @www.ticketmaster.com and
The Luckman Box Office +1 323 343 6600
(Please keep in mind that these are assigned seating events - in order to sit together you MUST purchase your tickets together - to view seating chart please go http://luckmanarts.org/seatingchart.php)
*Presale + early arrival is STRONGLY suggested*

Harriet and Charles Luckman Fine Arts Complex
Cal State University Los Angeles
5151 State University Drive. Los Angeles. 90032