Alternative hip-hop has blurred the lines between genres since the late 80’s. Recently, up-and-coming hip-hop artists like Hoodie Allen and Das Racist have kept this tradition alive by sampling popular indie anthems like the Black Keys’ “Tighten Up” and trading prototypical bass lines for synth and pop-inspired melodies. One group who has exemplified alternative hip-hop greatly is Chiddy Bang. The band, who gained internet fame when music blog Pretty Much Amazing featured songs from their MySpace, is composed of rapper Chidera “Chiddy” Anamege and Noah “Xaphoon Jones” Beresin. By sampling key-based artists like Sufjan Stevens, Ellie Goulding, and MGMT, the duo have won over the music scene by finding a unique way to capture universal appeal. Their newest EP The Preview was released in October and continues to generate substantial buzz.

Obscure Sound: “Chiddy Bang.” What’s the background behind the name?

Noah “Xaphoon Jones” Beresin: It’s what Chiddy has called all of his side projects since day one. At the time, we were moving so fast and writing songs so quickly, we just picked it as a name and moved on.

When did you and “Chiddy” meet?

Our freshman year of college at Drexel University. So, the end of 2008.

Where are you based?

Currently, Chiddy is based in Stroudsburg, PA, and I am based in Philadelphia.

Starting out, did you see Chiddy Bang as more so recreation, or were you initially aiming for real fame and success?

It was mostly just fun and recreation, but as soon as I realized I might be able to use it to avoid going to college, it was full speed ahead.

You guys sample a lot of indie pop; MGMT, Passion Pit, Hot Chip etc. Do you both generally listen to that sort of music?

I do. Chiddy mostly stays on the hip-hop tip, but every once and a while I’ll convert him and he’ll become a fan of something.

What is the writing process like?

There’s a lot of variation, but for the most part I make a beat, email it to Chiddy, he writes to it, and then we finalize the song together in the studio.

How much room do you allow for the raps to develop when your in the recording process?

It’s totally up to Chiddy, but once the rough stuff is laid down, we usually bounce different ideas off each other until a compromise is reached.

Who or what do you find inspires your music?

I’m inspired by lots of OG artists, particularly Joe Strummer and J. Dilla.

What do you find yourself doing when you’re not making music?

Hanging out with my roommates, walking our dog, cooking.

Last summer you played Lollapalooza, which I’m assuming was a big deal for Chiddy Bang. Can you tell me what the experience was like, along with any other memorable show experiences?

We’d done festivals before, but this was our first American one, and we didn’t know what the reception would be like. I’m rarely nervous before shows, but I must admit I was very much so at Lollapalooza. However, the reception was amazing and the crowd reaction was nuts. Our first festival was Glastonbury, and that was even wilder. We were supposed to be there for a day and ended up staying for like four days. Trying to recall details makes me dizzy. Amazingly fun though.

How have you been managing the fame?

I’m just the man in the background, and I like to keep it that way. I will say, I try to keep it real by not moving to New York or LA. Philly all day and tomorrow.

Even though you’re a fairly new band, you’ve certainly caught the attention of the music scene, including the many people who will read this interview. Anything you want to say to your fans?

Fans – we love you. Keep listening, bootlegging, whatever. And to you college kids – if you feel strongly about it, don’t be afraid to drop out. Kidding… kind of.

RIYL: Das Racist, Hoodie Allen, B.o.B, XV, Kid Cudi, Mike Posner, Bullion, Donnis, Wale, J. Cole, Wiz Khalifa, The White Panda

Chiddy Bang – Truth (feat. Passion Pit)

Chiddy Bang – Opposite Of Adults

Chiddy Bang – Nothing on We

Chiddy Bang – Bad Day (feat. Darwin Deez)

Official Site / MySpace / BUY

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December’s features were cut short by the ‘Best Albums‘ feature, so I decided to cram two months into one for this compilation. I think it makes this one twice as good as the average one on here, headlined by the first big successes of 2011. Destroyer, Smith Westerns, British Sea Power, and Cut Copy are the first big names to release an album in 2011, all doing so with critical acclaim. Three of the four are featured in this month’s compilation with some of the highlights from those releases. Add to that some new efforts by other familiar faces like Memory Tapes, Akron/Family, and Times New Viking and there is little to complain about thus far. If 2011 continues in a positive direction like this, we could all be in for a great year.

Even aside from the popular names, other names like Woodsman, Grass Widow, and Tennis are generating buzz as well. There is yet to be a breakout new star in 2011, but a couple of these artists produced exceptional debuts and sophomore releases that should provide them with some well-deserved recognition. I’m just hoping that February comes and goes quickly… in my opinion, it’s easily the worst month of the year. The weather absolutely sucks, the only sport on TV is basketball, and illnesses are flying around with malicious intent. I was unlucky enough to catch one early last week and am still battling it. The last time I was sick before this? Last February. There’s just something about the month that makes my body weak. Good thing music is not affected by the miserable qualities of a given month. It’s one of the only things that acts as an enjoyable compass in times like these.

01. Destroyer – Chinatown (post)
02. Smith Westerns – All Die Young (post)
03. British Sea Power – Mongk II (post)
04. Akron/Family – So It Goes (post)
05. Bullion – I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times (Beach Boys) (post)
06. Memory Tapes – Today Is Our Life (post)
07. Times New Viking – No Room to Live (post)
08. Woodsman – I Can’t Move (post)
09. Soft Landing – Pendleton Woolen (post)
10. Young Prisms – I Don’t Get Much (post)
11. Grass Widow – Fried Egg (post)
12. The Mountain Goats – Damn These Vampires (post)
13. Tennis – Pigeon (post)
14. Young Galaxy – We Have Everything (post)

DOWNLOAD ENTIRE COMPILATION>>> (91.2 MB, .RAR)

The post Obscure Sound: Best of Dec./Jan. ’11 appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

I am largely critical of mash-up artists, particularly those that lazily put original tracks through a bevy of VST plug-ins or pedals and call it a day. And even with a talented artist like Girl Talk, who uses his melodic abilities to mesh conflicting genres successfully, I find myself bored more often than not. His music is fun for dance clubs, I’m sure, but any listener not a slave to ecstasy will question its creative merit. Good music taste – which most mash-up artists have – does not necessarily equate to artistic creativity. Cutting out the chorus of a Black Eyed Peas song serves no point unless something new is to be found. An additional drum loop or a phased-out Aerosmith verse added on top of it seems superfluous, especially when the original structure is retained. If there any hooks present for most mash-ups, it was already there in its original form. Quality mash-ups – which are exceedingly rare – introduce new hooks and innovation, not new looks and instrumentation.

Too often do mash-ups sound like one snippet of a song fading into another, with not enough daring cohesion or stylistic risk-taking. The point of such works should be to provide an innovative take by combining multiple tracks or styles, not to introduce 30-second previews of tracks with additional phaser or reverb on top of it. Bullion is one of few artists that aspiring mash-up artists should devote themselves to. In the best interests of the mash-up ideology, the London-based producer has shown laudable mastery in a variety of styles, from the Beach Boys’ surf-pop to the alternative hip-hop of mavens like A Tribe Called Quest. Bullion’s diversity was shown best with his most recognizable release to date, Pet Sounds: In the Key of Dee. This was a mash-up of the Beach Boys’ classic album Pet Sounds and beats from the late hip-hop great J. Dilla. Like many Beach Boys fans who view Pet Sounds as the definition of a perfect album, I initially disregarded as a cheap method for Bullion to grow his reputation. After all, how can you add upon perfection without being pretentious or desperate?

It was not until I heard “Too Right”, an excellent new track from Bullion’s new 20-minute “non-LP”, that I decided to give In the Key of Dee a fair chance. What I found was that Bullion was not trying to further his reputation at the cheap expense of Brian Wilson and co. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Bullion is clearly a big Beach Boys fan. He was able to cull beautiful textures from Pet Sounds that gave off nostalgic appeal for obvious reasons, yet they also sounded very fresh in a way – like if Brian Wilson’s failed Sweet Insanity album featured the hip-hop beats that his talents could easily deliver if not diluted by mad scientist Eugene Landy.

While some efforts on In the Key of Dee were far more successful than others (the beautiful take on “I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times” trumps lazily repetitive efforts like “That’s Not Me (Dee)” and the overly choppy “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”). Still, everything is worthwhile in a sense considering Bullion is one of few examples where fandom clashes with artistic ability in a way that is neither pretentious nor desperate. The masterful “I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times” shows that best with a soulful sample of the track immediately giving way to twinkling synths. At that point, Bullion loops Wilson’s sonorous voice with the utmost precision, especially when Wilson recites one of his most tragic lines – “they say I’ve got brains, but they ain’t doing me no good” – over the succinct synth line and Dilla drum loop. This song defines how a mash-up should be done, and is what convinced me that Bullion is significantly different than most of his contemporaries.

Bullion’s newest offering is just as good. There is no central theme like Beach Boys/J. Dilla, but he plays like an Avalanches accomplice in taking everything from string-laden psych-folk to fist-pumping electro-pop in the vein of The Tough Alliance. Still, there is always a laid-back composure present in Bullion’s songs, accredited to the luscious synth pads and placid drum loops that intermittently make their presence known. The little Celtic string sample around the 01:46 mark is one example of Bullion’s excellent production chops, as it fades in and out with seamless cohesion while adding to the whirlwind of melodies within the track. Judging from his work so far, I would not be surprised if Bullion becomes a highly sought-after producer in the near future.

RIYL: Paul White, Dimlite, Samiyam, Mike Slott, AFTA-1, Dorian Concept, Débruit, Danger Mouse (his Grey Album)

Bullion – I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times (Beach Boys vs. J Dilla)

Bullion – Too Right

Bullion – Crazy Over You

Bullion – Say Goodbye to What

Bandcamp / MySpace / Facebook / BUY

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