The name Res has been floating around for the past decade. Having hit us hard with her seminal debut release, How I Do in 2001, we patiently waited for more. Unfortunately, Res fell prey to record industry politics in the frame of a liquidation, which left her on Geffen Record’s shelf. This did not stop the urban chanteuse from getting things done, from her song “To Empower” being featured in movie Akeelah and the Bee, forming a band, and now is all set to release her an official sophomore release EP.

With quite a few tour dates to hit in March, expect to see more of Res in the coming months. Headlining the show at North 4th Bar on March 12th in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, will be a chance for Res’ fans to get reacquainted with her.

We were able to get Res to answer a few questions for you to hear about what she’s been doing over the years. Check out the Q&A below!

Muphoric Sounds: What have you been up to since the release of “How I Do”?
Res: I have written another album called Black Girls Rock!, recorded an acoustic EP called BARE set for a indie release May 1st, toured with Gnarls Barkley singing backup for Cee Lo, traveled a bit, started a new group with Talib Kweli called Idle Warship and just continued living life as I know it!

MS: How did Idle Warship come about?
Res: It was a way for Kweli and I to do music in genres we are not known to do. Just another outlet to create something fresh!

MS: How would you describe your sound now?
Res: Lauryn Hill meets Fleetwood Mac.

MS: You released Black Girls Rock! last year. Is there anything new coming? What can we expect?
Res: I have recently recorded an acoustic EP called BARE. I plan to release it May 1st. And I am working on a new album with the producer of my first album. I am also gearing up to work with Kweli on the Idle Warship album. So far we released [in October 2009] a mixtape for free download called Party Robot.

MS: What do you have in store for your March 12th show in Brooklyn, NY?
Res: This performance is going to be the begining of my acoustic series. Me and one maybe two guitar players. It will be very intimate and raw.

MS: Are there any artist’s you’re listening to at the moment, you’d like our readers to check out?
Res: There is a guy in the UK named Tinashé.

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Also check The1Res.com for tour dates and if you missed the Mick Boogie Idle Warship Mixtape, Party Robot, it’s available here for download.

It’s been a pretty busy season for Brooklyn’s punk rock band Game Rebellion. With the release of their EP Sounds Like A Riot (January 25th), that was celebrated at Santos Party House in NYC to a crowded and fully charged-up audience — the band has been non-stop ever since. I got the chance to speak with Game Rebellion after their show at Le Poisson Rouge last week. If you haven’t seen these guys yet, I cannot stress how awesome their performance is. From the girls loosing control and jumping Netic and Yohimbe on the stage, the audience moshing each other in a chaotic slam dance, to the tight display of musicianship – Game Rebellion truly rock out! Watch the video below where they talk about the meaning of Game Rebellion, artist struggles, how deep the Game rolls and their musical integrity. I thoroughly enjoyed speaking with these guys. One thing that is abundantly clear, the ‘Game is Rebellious’ and they do indeed, ‘play by their own rules‘.

Thanks again to Alaric Campbell for capturing some amazing images, which were taken at their EP release party at Santos Party House. If you’d like to see more Game Rebellion, visit Muphoric Sounds YouTube Channel here.

If you’re from Brooklyn, you’ve come into contact with Dhundee in one way or another, from his DJing at some of New York’s exclusive parties and club nights. A Baltimore native, now residing in Brooklyn, Dhundee’s musical journey is one that is hard to categorize, as he manages to encompass various musical genres without coming across as contrite or far-reaching. With the recent official release of his album, Take Flight, which features an array of fine artists and showcases his skills not only as musician (Trombone and Drums) and producer, but even a singer! Take Flight contains innovative, atmospheric musical arrangements to chill to, or even work up a sweat to on the dance floor. Highly respected within the industry, working with Waajeed (from Platinum Pied Pipers), Cecilia Stalin, Sarah White, Kissey Asplund, Michelle Amador, his new album has begun to gain attention from other amazing producers, such as the recently retired Domu, who remixed “Tomorrow,” and features the sexy-jazzy-cool vocals of Swedish singer, Cecilia Stalin.

Watch the never-before-seen until now video created by Dhundee, where he rocks the beat. And below, he shares with Muphoric Sounds his musical path and process, his new album, and what’s on his horizons. Taking his music across the seas, the name Dhundee is one you should pay attention to. His album can be purchased from his Bandcamp page. Enjoy!

1. Who is “Dhundee”?
Dhundee is a Producer, Musician, DJ, Daddy, Connector, Biz Owner who resides in Brooklyn.

2. Do you think you would be the “Dhundee” you are today if you stayed in Baltimore? Why?
Yes. Dhundee started out in B’more 17 years ago. I was in 2 bands — one hardcore rock band and the other, a jazzy hip hop band. I was very involved with making music even before that so I would and could set up shop anywhere I lay my hat.

3. People always say, there’s something about Brooklyn. How has being based in Brooklyn influenced your creativity?
There is definitely something special about Brooklyn. I am influenced by the different sections of Brooklyn, the people, the style, the attitude, the kids, the hustle, the crazy conversations I overhear walking the streets, the conversations I have with the gypsy cab drivers that I come from all over the earth listening to their music while riding in the cab, the feeling of leaving the city and riding over the bridge; leaving the hustle behind me. Most of all I like the pace here and how you can set your own if you choose to.

4. Who are your main musical influences? What did you grow up listening to?
I grew up listening mostly to soul, hip hop and house music, later jazz, electronica, trip hop, Ultramagnetic MC’s, De La Soul, Ralph MacDonald “The Path”, KRS 1, Leaders of the New School, Tribe, Native Tongue Fam, Jimi Hendrix, 90’s rock, Lala Hollaway and ole school B’more Club and Chicago House music, Prince, Stevie, Michael, Stereolab, Can, early Ninja Tune records.

5. Being a musician who plays multiple instruments, what do you prefer when composing music – instrumentation or computerization? Why?
I prefer using both. I approach each song differently. Being that drums/drumset is my main instrument, I usually start off doing drum solos in my studio first. As I’m playing, I can hear the bass lines and chords, and from there I record digitally into the computer. It’s a lot cheaper than reel to reel tape and a lot more efficient.

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For some reason, I had been missing all of Little Dragon’s performances in New York City. I even tried to catch them in the UK this past summer, but flights were not in sync either. This past Saturday, I finally got it together and took myself down to Le Poisson Rouge.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a show and the band sounds better than the actual CD. Lead singer and percussionist, Yukimi Nagano has this amazing vocal style and range, that has you entrapped, hanging on every note. It’s effortless beauty to your ears. Watching Yukimi perform is like watching a child playing in the sunshine with open arms, spinning till they fall into a pool of laughter. At one point, she got down in the audience and danced with us. Band members Erik Bodin (drums), Fredrik Källgren Wallin (bass), and Håkan Wirenstrand (keyboards), together create magic, and Yukimi is their vocal muse of sheer happiness. Why hadn’t I seen them sooner?!

If Little Dragon are in your town, here’s your marching order: GET YOURSELF A TICKET! They put on an incredible show, and are truly a band enjoying what they do. Although I wanted to see them perform “Twice” from their debut album and “Thunder Love,” from Machine Dreams, I left the venue completely satiated. Watch “Constant Surprises” from the show below and enjoy!

Big thanks to Alaric Campbell for the great photos!

There’s much debate on whether hip hop music is alive or dead. Hearing producers like CHIEF, you realize there are those who work hard to keep rap music as a true art form, pure in creation and where the ultimate goal is not commercialism, but appreciation.

Born and still residing in Lausanne, Switzerland, CHIEF makes me wonder about the vibrant music scene in Europe right now, as a lot of great stuff is coming from overseas. Founder of Feelin’ Music record label, his new full-length release, Collabo Collection features an A-list group of guest artists such as Moka Only, Kissey Asplund, Le Nubians, Dynas, Co$$, Sene, and blu., to name a few. Collabo Collection is a blend of smooth and chilled Dilla infused beats where his collaborations bring the tunes to fruition, notwithstanding the cool instrumentals within the collection. The beatmaker shared with Muphoric Sounds his philosophy and method to creating, his new album, the power of the internet in making musical connections, and his various music influences. Truly someone to keep your ear open for.

Kick back and listen to some of the tracks off Collabo Collection below and for Free Exclusive Download – “Lost Love” featuring Co$$, who will be releasing his new album on Tres Records very soon. Collabo Collection is scheduled for release November 3rd.

Demon Love ft. Kissey Asplund and Moka Only from Collabo Collection

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Tru Love ft. blu. & Sene from Collabo Collection

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There is so much great music coming from Europe, to a point that people are beginning to think Muphoric Sounds only features music by European artists. How do you describe the music scene in Switzerland?
Although Switzerland is a tiny country, the music scene is definitely very rich, especially considering the size of the country. As we speak 3 different languages in Switzerland (French, German, Italian) depending on which area you live in, there are lots of different influences, sub-cultures and music styles. Each part of Switzerland somehow bears mad similarities with the bordering country using the same language, i.e. France, Germany and Italy. The rock and pop scene is the biggest, but has no chance to export itself due to the language issue.. let’s not even mention the accent for those who try anyway. Both the electronic and hip-hop scenes have been growing stronger over the last few years, and quite a number of Swiss producers have been able to make a name for themselves outside of our mountains. There’s definitely talent, passion, and involvement here.

How did you get started?
Alright, this is going to look like a “copy and paste”, every producer from my generation probably has the exact same story! I first started DJing when I was 14 years old, it was in the 90’s and at that time the hip-hop scene was really taking off in Switzerland, thus I immediately got interested in that scene. When I was 21 I started making beats, with the usual heavyweights like DJ Premier, Pete Rock and such being major influences on my sound. Over the years, as my skills developed, my style evolved, took different directions, I tackled varied styles, and it finally turned in something quite different and more personal. I guess the goal of every beatmaker is to have your very own sound signature, create beats that can be very different from one another, but still retain that one special touch of yours, whether you can pin exactly what it is or not.

How do you describe your sound?
Electric, vintage, smooth, with an organic groove! I still like to start with samples and build up from that foundation, but the elements that truly make the track are all the sounds and tricks I then add, all the twitching which kind of hide the original samples.

What collaborations and moments at the start of your career made your realize you were onto something as a producer/DJ?
There wasn’t actually one specific event that made me think I was onto something, instead it was a slow evolution. When I was a teen and I was djing and generally really into the whole hip-hop thing, I reached this point when you want to go deeper into it, get involved and add your own brick to the wall. So I bought a mpc and got started. Around the same time, I left my job and started a sound engineer formation. That allowed me to focus on music more generally, start my own recording studio, and hopefully this will allow me to avoid having to get a shitty job in the future!

Tell us about your new album “Collabo Collection” and the people you chose for the project.
“Collabo Collection” is not a real studio album, it’s a compilation of tracks I made over the latest years. You can hear different influences or styles depending on when these tracks were recorded (between 2005 and 2009). I did a number of collaborations over the last few years with many different artists. With most of the artists, it was kind of an “exchange”, you give them a beat for their album, they give you a featuring for yours in return. It all happened very naturally, I hooked up with different artists, others then came to me, etc…. and at some point I realized that I had quite a lot of tracks that I was really happy with and which had never been released, so I decided to compile the best ones and make an album out of it.

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Back in May, I ran a mini-feature on Mayer Hawthorne, whose “Maybe So, Maybe No” hit hard between my ears, forcing me to set the iPod and iTunes to repeat. Recently, just finishing up the Stones Throw U.S. and European tour, I was able to talk with Mayer about his musical path, his alter egos, that really aren’t alter egos but extensions of himself. One thing that is apparent, these guys (Mayer Hawthorne and DJ Haircut) aren’t going away. Seems weird referring to him as two people, but as you read in the interview below, you’ll understand the separation of characters.

Mayer’s album Strange Arrangement is set to release on September 8. Sorry folks, no sample tune to listen to here; they’ve got the album on “lock.” However, I have heard it and there are some baby-making worthy tunes on there — enough to make your soul smile. Mayer has a cool style, soft, yet raspy voice, that definitely extends beyond his years. Drew Cohen was born to be Mayer Hawthorne; there’s no pretense or contrite, just pure soul. Read what he told Muphoric Sounds and listen to the Astronote remix of “Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out.”

Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out by Mayer Hawthorne (Astronote Remix)

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Muphoric Sounds: How did you get started as an artist? How long have you been in the business?
Mayer Hawthorne: I have been playing in bands since high school. My parents are both musicians. My dad taught me how to play bass guitar when I was six years and he still plays in a band in Detroit to this day. My mom made me take piano lessons when I was a kid, which I hated, but now I’m so glad that she made me take those lessons.

MS: Was that because of the technical side of playing and reading music?
MH: It was mainly for the introduction to one of the key instruments of soul music, which is the piano, and music in general. Most of the greatest songwriters of all time, all play piano. Billy Joel, Elton John. It’s an important instrument.

MS: Your bio says you’ve taken from the Motown assembly-line production model and eliminated nearly every element. How would you describe this process to create what you do?
MH: [laughs] Usually, the song just comes to me and I’ll ear all the parts in my head very vividly and the challenge is to take the song and all the arrangements that I hear in my head and get them out of my head and onto a reel. So one by one, play the drums, bass, piano, or whatever the instrument is to get it to sound like it does in my head.

MS: You did a Prince with Strange Arrangement, by playing all the instruments and vocals, being like a one-man production, which is quite amazing.
MH: One of the main reasons I wanted to play all of the instruments myself, in fact I didn’t play them all myself, but I did play the majority them. I had a little help from The County, my live band. Playing the instruments myself, is really fun for me. It’s generally easier for me to get the sounds I hear in my head, if I just play it myself rather than trying to explain it to another musician. I’m extremely meticulous in the studio, I’m an extreme perfectionist and I’ll record a bass line a 100 times in a row until I get the perfect sound the way I hear it in my head. And a lot of times, its easier to play it myself than try to explain to another musician.

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Earlier this month, Muphoric Sounds plugged Moka Only’s impressive new album, The Lowdown Suite 2: The Box and was able to send him some questions to answer for Muphoric Sounds. The Vancouver-based rapper and producer shares his rhyme and reason to his production, working with Kissey Asplund on “Drip Drop” (great story by the way!), his influences, and the plight of the digital era for artists. Within the interview, you get a true sense of his personality, “quirky” at best, truly an artist, who never stops creating! With great musical collaborations on the horizon and even working under a pseudonym, Moka Only ain’t going nowhere! And for what it’s worth, I’ve planted the seed for a collaboration with L.A. based rapper Blu; we eagerly await.

For the readers of Muphoric Sounds, Moka has provided an exclusive download of “Lemon,” from The Lowdown Suite 2: The Box (hear it below), which can be purchased on iTunes.

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Check out the Muphoric Sounds exclusive interview with Moka Only below!

What are your musical influences?
I have many music influences…people ranging from Frank Zappa to James Brown to Eazy-E. It’s all relative, but I usually lean toward stuff that’s interesting or weird, I guess. Lol.

What did you grow up listening to in the home?
In the home when I was a kid I got into jazz rather early so I would listen to Ornette Coleman, Sphere, Monk, Les McCann, Joe Pass…all kinda great cats. Also rocked Joni Mitchell and Stevie.

For me, and this is based on my experiences of Canada, is that it’s a place of calm, order, idyllic views, fresh air, order, etc. But, clearly there is a strong urban culture there. How would you compare hip-hop culture and rap music in Canada to San Diego?
Hahaha. You have a strange view of Canada if you think it’s all streams and idyllic, pastoral beauty. I mean, that does exist out in the country but the same can be said for America or any country. I’m from Vancouver. I would urge people to Google it and see for themselves. I’m not tryna push for the stereotypical ’street cred/war stories’ but Vancouver is as grimy as any major North American metropolis. We have big gun problems, gangs, and the same horrors that need to be eliminated as elsewhere. Of course there are many cool places in the city too. Vancouver is a lot like San Diego. We are a bigger city though. I moved there on a whim. Literally. No planning. My life’s been like that. Vagabond stuff. One advantage of going to San Diego way back then is the proximity to Los Angeles and the hip hop movement that was poppin’ there at that time. L.A. cats would visit Diego on the frequent. Met lots of people there in situations that might not have happened at that time in Vancouver.

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