Production duo, Tensei, comprising of two fellas Simple X and Midas Wells, met while studying at Southern Illinois University. The two soon realised their affinity to hip-hop (and music in general) and formed the group Tensei, meaning ‘heaven star’ in Japanese.

Now signed to Plug Research record label, home to the likes of Bilal and Quadron, they released One, an EP of nine tracks, mainly of instrumentals, with guest vocals from ADAD, Denmark of Crown Nation, and Scarlet Monk. They categorise their music as ‘modern fusion hip-hop’, which sums them perfectly, as their music covers much ground — alternative and cinematic where its essence is hip-hop. Their style defies the hip-hop standard of overt use of samples and lean more towards live instrumentation instead of the break beat and loops to fill their tunes.

Check out One below, which is also available at a largely discounted price on iTunes. You’re going to love this one! Tensei‘s upcoming full-length album will be released on Plug Research later this year. Stay tuned!

I absolutely love it when love hits my in-box! This love is in the form of Label Love Vol. 2, a project spawn from One-Handed Music, where they join forces with other independent labels to put tunes together that are either community staples, or previously unreleased. This eclectic collection of tunes feature some of our favored independent labels – Melting Pot, Ninja Tune, One-Handed, Plug Research, Tru Thoughts, and Ubiquity. What’s apparent in this compilation is the distinct identity each label has in sound. Very nice treats from Ahu, Maddslinky, Bilal, Paul White, Full Crate, and many others! Did I mention that this is a free download in courtesy of One-Handed Music! Check out my favs below and head over to the Bandcamp page for the free download!

It’s initiatives like these that make me love the democratic and organic nature of the Internet, and why I work by trade in this environment. Plug Research and Quadron have set the task for producers to remix their single, “Average Fruit” with the prize being studio time with Robin Hannibal and Coco, and their remix to be featured on Quadron‘s forthcoming EP. Submissions are uploaded to this Soundcloud page. The remixes are fantastic and show just how diverse Quadron‘s audience is. Here’s one of my favourites from by UK producer BUG. He houses the tune up a little, then adds a dirty bass groove as the song progresses. Rotation worthy! Check it out below, then head over to Soundcloud to hear other submissions. Leave comments to helps Quadron in their decision making. Deadline is tomorrow, November 22. And kudos to the artist who did the artwork for the BUG Punch Up Remix cover!

Quadron – Average Fruit (BUG’s Punch-Up) by BUGMusic

Here’s a taste of one of the things that excites me for 2010 – Bilal Oliver! In this video Bilal and rapper Hezekiah work and talk about the meaning of the song “Think It Over.” The song is produced by 88-Keys, and the album will be released on the Plug Research record label (his label mates include Om’Mas, Shafiq Husayn, Flying Lotus, and Exile). He definitely is around friends and family for this release. Based on this teaser, all Bilal elements will be present — stellar vocals, beautiful but yet real lyrical content against some hard hitting Dilla-esque beats, mixed in with some jazz and my kind of R&B. I can’t wait! Enjoy the video below.

Thanks to Put Me On It for bringing this video to our attention.