When I heard Lætitia Sadier was breaking from her band Stereolab to do a solo project, I automatically thought, “This can’t be good,” remembering Thom Yorke‘s solo project from his band, Radiohead. However, from the opening track “One Million Year Trip,” Lætitia‘s staple vocal style soon shook the doubt away.

Known primarily for being a band member of Stereolab, but also a member of the dream-pop group Monade, The Trip, in a way, could be a seen as Lætitia Sadier‘s self-fulfilling prophesy. Teaming with Emmanuel Mario, who produced the Monade album, and Richard Swift, who both keep Lætitia close to the sound she is most comfortable in.

What is clear, Lætitia has a deep imprint on the Stereolab sound, and in some places, The Trip sounds like a Stereolab production. The music acts as a direct contrast to the lyrics, oftentimes at opposites. What I would have loved on the album, is Lætitia going beyond her comfort-zone as she did with Common on his Electric Circus.

Although Stereolab announced going on an indefinite hiatus over a year ago, they plan to release a new album called Not Music in November, featuring songs they recorded during the same time as their last album Chemical Cords in 2008. Not so new; but new to us.

Listen to a couple of tunes from The Trip and scoot over to iTunes to buy a copy.

“One Million Year Trip”

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“Another Monster”

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Within all the social media world I immerse myself in as a blogger, I have to regularly assign time to listen to the music I receive from artists, either through Twitter, Facebook, and in my email inbox directing me to download or listen to a stream. District of Columbia native, Born I Music aka Born Infinite sent me a tweet this week with something to listen to. I’m not normally positioned by my computer to listen to a track right away, but on this day I was! Born I Music uses the instrumental of Miguel‘s “All I Want Is You,” (which features J. Cole) and just basically kicks a hot rhyme over the track making it his own. Formerly from the underground hip hop group Shambhalo, who provided us with some serious underground hip hop (listen to snippets of Shambhalo’s album The Lotus Of… on CD Baby). Check it out Born I Music‘s flip on “All I Want Is You” below and tell me what you think!

[soundcloud url="http://soundcloud.com/bornimusic/born-i-all-i-want-is-you-freestyle/s-wWTX1"]

Definitely among the group of quintessential digital producers who are raising the bar, Flying Lotus can never been accused of being a bum! He never stops working. Just four months ago, he hit us with the reverent Cosmogramma, and within two months of its release, Warp Records shared “Camera Day,” which was a peek into what FlyLo was working on for the EP Pattern+Grid World.

Pattern+Grid World‘s most noticeable factor is that it’s a lot more staid in production than his previous works, notwithstanding his stellar innovative arrangements. I would even go as far as to say, Pattern+Grid+World is a sexy composition. Each instrumental comes with sounds of tremor, whether it be through the keyboards or pulsating drums. There’s even a mode of femininity to some of the tunes like, “Kill Your Co-Workers” and “Time Vampires,” but then the titles mask their sensitivity. My only real criticism of the Pattern+Grid World is its brevity; we wanted MORE!

Check out my favs from the Pattern+Grid World EP and let me know what you think. You can purchase the EP from Bleep.com; vinyl purchases come with a limited edition poster.

Clay

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Time Vampires

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It’s cool when you hear a producer who has many dimensions that are all interrelated. This producer is Los Angeles-based, Moonsatellite. Not only does he create dope beats, but also has an extensive background in hip-hop journalism; he knows what a hot beat and a dope rhyme should sound like, so it’s no surprise his music being a journey of cool.

Moonsatellite is the chief blogger on the buzzing music site Culture King, and has been making tunes for quite some time with various artist. I first heard his production on “sweet,” which featured West Coast emcee, Moka Only a.k.a. Ron Contour (take a look at the Muphoric Sounds interview with Moka Only here). “sweet” is a laid back track that contains textures reminiscent of a 70s soul groove coupled with Moka Only‘s smooth delivery.

Now, Moonsatellite gives us a mini sampler of what he’s been working on with “LAzer Sky,” “Blue Galaxy,” and “Chinese Detroit.” His sound takes us on an experimental route in hip hop, where he often highlights a particular sound and/or instrument on the track. I found myself listening to musical parts in isolation. Each of the three tunes stand apart from each other in construct but are very much interconnected. Very cool to listen to.  Check out the tunes below, which are also available for free download.

Moonsatellite is currently working on new music with Moka Only; which in my opinion, is a great match! Looking forward to hearing what they come up with.

“LAzer Sky”
Blue Galaxy by Moonsatellite

“Blue Galazy”
Blue Galaxy by Moonsatellite
“Chinese Detroit”
Chinese Detroit by Moonsatellite

Moonsatellite can be found on Myspace, Twitter, and Soundcloud pages (the links take you to his networks).

My ears went into sensory overdrive while listening to Nate Smith‘s Scrapbook: Waterbaby Vol. 1.5, created exclusively for the original two-steppers; the tunes will have you rocking in glide mode fashion.

Nate Smith was born to be a musician; his story is perfectly aligned with one thing—to create great music. Hailing from Norfolk, Virginia, he started playing drums as a child. After graduating high school he went onto James Madison University in Atlanta, where he was hand picked by Betty Carter, to join her esteemed Jazz Ahead program. Since then it’s been non-stop. From working with Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest and producing Yahzarah, and also the King, Michael Jackson, Nate Smith is a talent not to be ignored.

Scrapbook: Waterbaby Vol. 1.5 is a series of instrumentals culminating all of his influences from jazz to hip hop to soul to funk. Throughout the collection of tunes, you get a sense of what he’s listening to right now, from producer, Nicolay and Phonte and of The Foreign Exchange to UK-based singer Cecilia Stalin, Emily King, and Jarrard Anthony.

You can just hit play and let it run it’s course. Scrapbook: Waterbaby vol. 1.5 can be downloaded from his Bandcamp page. You can also purchase Vol. 1 on his Waterbaby Music website.

Shout out to Duane Powell over at Soundrotation for putting us on to this one!

SingersRoom.com‘s will be hosting an event with the incredible soul singer, Bilal for their Acoustic Conversation series, on Friday, September 10thThursday, September 9th at 7pm to 11pm!

We have a pair of tickets for one lucky winner! You’ll get to hear him perform just days before his new album, Airtight’s Revenge is released on September 14. The Acoustic Conversation series is about opening the lines of communication between artists and their fans through an open Q&A, followed by an acoustic and intimate set. This is going to be an extraordinary event, held at a secret location in Brooklyn!

So people, you have to act quickly AND spread the word about this giveaway.

We have got two tickets for giveaway! To enter, it’s simple:  Send an email to contests@muphoricsounds.com including your full name (as it appears on your official ID) by Tuesday, September 7th, 2010 at 5:00pm for a random drawing. The winner will be notified the same day, Tuesday, September 7th, and their name, plus one will be added to the guest list. They will receive location information in confirmation email. (We dislike spam as much as you do; your contact information will never be sold or rented, in compliance with US Spam Laws.) So get yourself in it, to win it, and share the word with your friends.

Cool and bazaar album covers tend to pique ones interest about an unknown band. And if you’re already a fan, then it simply strengthens the allegiance. For me, it sealed the deal. A spaceship cat—that’s a pretty dope concept!

I got to see Klaxons back in 2007, and by accident at a Bjork show at Madison Square Garden. We were busy drinking at the bar and almost missed their opening performance. I remember settling down in my seat, listening with farrowed brows, and then turning to my friend saying, “We should’ve got our drinks to go; these guys are great!” At the time, they had just released their debut album Myths of the Near Future, which featured their award-winning single “Golden Skans.”

Now with their second album, Surfing the Void, they stay close to their psychedelic, progressive, pop, rock roots. Currently based in London, the band managed to get LA producer, Ross Robinson (who has produced Sepultura, Slipknot, At the Drive In, The Cure) to produce Surfing the Void. The album is dark, with sinister elements interchanging between the great musical arrangements and melodies that match perfectly. You could say the pop element of what they do is in the melody — you’ll be singing along with them in no time! Check out a couple of tunes below, then head over to iTunes to get yourself a copy of Klaxons.

Valley of Calm Trees

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Cypherspeed

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Here we have it, the official video for “F*** You” by Cee-Lo. While cute in concept, just seems a little clichéd for my tastes. I expected something a bit more pained, like the broken heart walking with a sprig of broccoli in its hand in the “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul,” video by Gnarls Barkley (check it out here, if you haven’t seen it). But hey, that’s only my opinion; check it out below.

If the link goes down, you can see a snippet of it on Cee-Lo’s Facebook Fan Page (but you have to “Like” the page first to view it).