[video] Abadawn - "Very Much"

If you've paid a modicum of attention to things I do out here then you know that Abadawn is the homie and a frequent collaborator. He's a strange dude for sure, but in my world that's a commendation. One of the realest and most honest emcees in the town and probably in the whole damn game for that matter. Anyway he's always putting together new things and this joint he recorded in the old Big Bang studio and then brought downstairs to make a video in the absurd layout of Grant Michael's Industrial Antiques. Its....well its Abadawn, ya know?

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BIG BANG - Tis The Season ft. Rocket One Official Video [Honest Hip Hop]

"Tis The Season featuring Rocket One" by Big Bang, available now from Big Bang Broadcast Company.

Recorded at Valiant Records. Shot at Valiant Records and the rest of Salmon St. Studios. Produced and directed by Martin Van Londen for Rainy Day Solutions.

We have 3 compilations up on Bandcamp and more coming every month. Don't Sleep. Follow @WEBANGBIG. Find us on Facebook. CRACK YOUR SKULL OPEN.

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VIDEO: Terminill and V1 Creative present "PDX Pass The Mic" [Honest Hip Hop]

This just came out today, here is the info from from Terminill's website:

"Gather up some dope video guys (v1creative) a recording studio (Flatline Studios) a producer (Terminill) and 8 of Portland’s top lyricists (Serge Severe, Th3ory Hazit, Jon Belz, Luck-One, Quiz Zilla, Mila Gordana, Cassow, & Braille) and you get PDX Pass The Mic."

Download it here via hulkshare
NICE

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I'm Playing at a Massive Hip Hop Festival - Fire In The Canyon

go to fireinthecanyon.com

yeah its gonna be pretty sweet.

i'm stoked to see alot of the artists, hang out and have some fun.

yes. this is ACTUALLY HAPPENING

I have been working on this album for the past year. It has been a process of writing, performance, reflection, editing, writing, recording, listening, editing, writing, performance and recording. I am very pleased to have met Joe Cyrus who was kind enough to let me take home some of his beats and begin work on this project. We have found a mutual love for soul music and positive energy and it has led to some incredible songs and great times.

This album is many conversations at once. It is my response to Joe's production. It is my response to the music of my brother. It is my response to the multitudes of beauty i find in the creative communities I take part in. It is my response to a falling world. It is a statement of where I am at, so that I may someday recall the moment. It is a letter to the friends I've lost touch with, and even to those I see every day.

This is a remedy for a broken heart.

This is ACTUALLY HAPPENING

prismACTIVISM: Artists in Dialog + DMLH album release party!

YES. THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING. DMLH is finally releasing the full length album, and i'm not too proud to say it is fucking dope. For real, i am stoked on this project and it is the independent honest hip-hop I wanted it to be. Entirely produced by Joe Cyrus, the music is soulful and funky, classic hip hop style that provokes dancing in the club and nodding in the whip. Entirely written by DMLH, with a few quotes from friends just to say whats up. No guest appearances, this is 35 minutes of DMLHISM.

Actually Happening will be available on Tuesday May 3rd for download and physical mailorder. I am hand-collaging (with paint, stamps, pen and photobooth images) 200 cases for a limited release (signed and numbered of course) and this will be available exclusively in person or via my bandcamp page.

BUT WAIT, that is not all. This Friday May 6th, from 6-12, at the esteemed Launch Pad Gallery here in Portland OR, I am celebrating this release and the arts community I have become a part of. I have contacted 20+ artists who's work has inspired me in the course of making this album and asked them to create a response to the music. I could be a comment, a translation, an abstraction created while listening - anything that comes out of their relationship to what I have created.

This is prismACTIVISM - direct action and full spectrum effect.

Featuring music from DMLH, JOE CYRUS, DAPS, GEPETTO, NEW PIONEERS and JAKE KOST, Live painting and an incredible hanging show, this is gonna be alot of fun.

SEE YAWLZ THRRRR!

New Album from The Height of 63 - "A Thousand Swords & The Flooded Cave"

The Height of 63 is Michael Griffith, aka Griff who slays keyboards in Archers. A Thousand Swords & The Flooded Cave is a long awaited collection of songs that have been growing for the past 8 years. In that time Griff has lived in SoCal, Geneva and Portland, all the while crafting a space for himself in the world he hears.

The album opens with the classic pop refrain "ah" repeating into spaciousness, and settles into oscillating 8bit frequencies. Griff follows this with "Clouds Burst", acoustic guitar and organs that build from a subtle strum into a heavy wash of emotion, over a sparse electronic beat. I dont feel as through I am well versed enough to talk properly about The Height of 63. There are so many layers of sound and tone, and Griff moves through them all with a timeless, seamless feeling. Sometimes this album sounds like waking up after a shipwreck, washed ashore in the seafoam.

A Thousand Swords and the Flooded Cave is an immersive listening experience from start to finish, and you can hear it all and download at The Height of 63 on Bandcamp. DO IT.

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Show Review: Eddie Valiant, Mt. Tabor Theater, Portland, OR 2.13.11

A few weeks ago, while hundreds of fans lined up around the block at Portland’s Mt Tabor Theater to see Del The Funky Homosapien, I was fortunate enough to be inside to catch the opening act, Portland locals Eddie Valiant. The house was already filling up by the time DJ Zone began to warm up the stage with some choice cuts. He was joined by a drummer and three vocalists, and it looked like we were in for a typical underground rap act.

Eddie Valiant is anything but typical. Max Graves (a rapper), David Mann (a singer), and Scotty Del (a vocalist who does both), belt out personal anthems and pop harmonies, while DJ Zone lays down beats that blur the lines between indie rock and hip hop, and Chase Pingree’s drums never stop carrying the momentum.

photo by Lindsay Nacko

Graves’ rap voice speaks in stacatto bursts of confident poetry, like the hard truth smashing though the mundane. His stage presence is strength personified, power in the flux of restraint and release. David Mann’s vocals sing from the other side of the spectrum, reaching deep for emotive tones that ride the melody like a trip down the rabbit hole. He illustrates his lyrics with his actions, and comments on their meaning with his eyes. Scotty balances the combination, with a raw flow and singing voice that belie the truth in verses of everyday struggle for personal growth. From his words to his actions on stage its clear that this is not a front, this is his heart laid out in unapolagetic terms.

The production moves from hardcore hip hop to melodic indie rock and even into alt-pop territory. Bolstered by the live drums it had a huge portion of the crowd dancing by the end of their set, no small feat for an unknown opener in a huge, cold room. Every member of the group contributes parts to the music, so their mashup of sounds is a true reflection of the identities of the group.

I got a copy of their new EP from David, and bumped it on my ride home. It held the same huge energy of their set, and had me nodding to the shifting dynamic between the members of the group. It just came out this month on Taxidermy Records, and has already garnered a good bit of interest. With a mixtape download coming out in June, and a bunch of shows coming up over the next few months, he said the group is looking forward to a summer full of more awesome times, and I am stoked to see where it takes them.

Writing On The Wall - DMLH and Joe Cyrus Live at Launch Pad Gallery

Last September I was fortunate enough to be invited to partake in a live installation project at the Launch Pad Gallery in Portland. The idea behind the project was to create a space for words to flow freely, where people could interact with each other, the space, and the words that were created. It was an honor to be a part of this moment, and a great chance to introduce some Portland Hip Hop to a lot of new listeners.

The event was promoted with index-card sized flyers, and on the back they were blank, except for a tiny bit of text: "your word here". On the night of the event more cards were supplied, along with pens and markers, thumbtacks and yarn for connecting strands of thought. A 30 foot wall was offered to the crowd as a space to begin self organizing their words and those they came in contact with.

After this had gone on for some time we cranked up some beats and ran around with wireless mics, freestyling literally off the wall. It was one of the most enjoyable nights of my year, and really of my entire career as a performance artist. We went on like this for an hour, mixing in our songs with the freestyle, feeding off the vibe, even rapping according to words handed to us by the crowd.

Thanks to Ben Pink and Launch Pad Gallery for making it happen, Portland Hip Hop heads Joe Cyrus, Kable Roc and Dagda Sun for rockin the mics with me, Shermstixx for DJ'ing and Wellis the Taoist Fool for making the document that exists above.

Just more Honest Hip Hop Art from my Indie Rap Adventure
-DMLH

DMLH Live Honest Hip Hop at The Pub at the End of the Universe - Portland, OR - 1/12/11

SO last week it was my homie Joe Cyrus birthday and we were celebrating, with a bunch of heads dropping new material and a badass freestyle cypher late in the night. In attendance was Daps, Gepetto, Abadawn, Wellis Fool, Diction One, Prime Source, Kable Roc, Gavin Theory and many more heads from the pdx scene (dont hate if i forgot you).

Anyway this guy who was there captured video of most of the night and caught my whole set in one take. I was losing my voice to this nasty cold that everyone in Portland has right now, so by the end of it its pretty much gone, but check it out, watch the whole thing or just skip through, this will give you an idea of where my songs are at these days, as I finish up and get ready for my album release party in May.

Just more Honest Hip Hop from my Indie Rap Adventure.
-DMLH

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NIGHTSHIFT at ROTTURE 2.16.11

NIGHTSHIFT is back for a second round. Come party, dance or just chill with the homies while enjoying genre blurring music from some of Portland's finest. Do you like to make party? So do we. Come say hi and join us for a drink. Featuring various takes on electro by START FIRES, THE SEXBOTS and SPESUS CHRIST with an opening set of subtle ambient by WEATHER EXPOSED SKELETON MUSIC to warm up the room.

At Rotture 315 Se 3rd Ave, 9pm,... $5 for the bands, 21+ for the young at heart.
More Info on all the bands is after the jump.
Check out the Event page on Facebook and invite your friends!

NIGHTSHIFT at ROTTURE

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Prayers For Athiests - Psalm for St. Paul Offical Video

Rhode Island based Prayers For Atheists have been getting major props over the last few years for their high-energy, smart, political punk rock. The group started as a collaboration between spoken word poet Jared Paul and musician Alan Hague. Jared's rhythmic poetry caught Alan's attention at a show and the two began to figure out how their styles could work together. The result is Prayers For Atheists, the band, and the EP that is out now on Sage Francis' Strange Famous Records.

Musically the EP is a mix of punk styles that stays hardcore while being extremely danceable and fun. Lyrically Jared explores relevant issues of our day with a critical edge, and a penchant for resistance.

Psalm for St. Paul is a personal account of his true life experience being harassed and arrested by police during a non-violent protest at the 2008 Republican National Convention, and the grassroots campaign to battle the charges in court that followed.

The official video, released today, combines actual footage from that protest with clips of the bands live show and Jared singing his story to the camera. It builds into a dynamic and powerful statement and document of the very real struggle of free people in the police state.

check out the album at Strange Famous Records

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Gavin Theory's Metal-Legged Mix

Gavin Theory has been dropping futurist Hip Hop for a number of years. The Emcee/Producer relocated from Wisconsin to Portland, OR, in 2008, along with emcee Lucas Dix to make a bigger name for their group Hives Inquiry Squad. Over the past two years, the duo have built a solid reputation and fanbase around their high energy show, which owes as much to classic hip hop as it does to a number of electronic music styles.

A few weeks ago Gavin released a new mix to preview unreleased tracks from their upcoming full-length "Edifice", as well as Lucas' new project with DJ Great Mundane, The Jellyfish Brigade. The continuous mix also includes tracks from other well respected Northwest artists like Gepetto, Abadawn, Sleep (of Oldominion and The Chicharones), Cloudy October and Mic Crenshaw, as well as some of his favorite selections from major artists like Aesop Rock and Atmosphere.

The new Hives tracks push their style ahead with a mashup of lyrical styles and heavy eclectic production that is going to destroy some fat subs. The Jellyfish Brigade tracks are also real thick, and its great to hear Lucas get the opportunity to expand across a whole track with his multitextured vocal styles.

The mix is available for free at the Hives Inquiry Bandcamp page, in 4 pieces. Gavin recommends you burn a disc to play with no "gaps" to get the full experience. However you decide to ingest it, this plate is full of banger indie rap, sure to please the palette of any and all heads with good taste.

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Archers Live at HOLLAWEEN! Oct 29, Portland, OR

Madyhampster caught some sweet video of the madness that was Holla Hollaween (scroll down to see the flyer). Apparently the rest of Portland has finally caught on to how fucking awesome Archers are and even the portland mercury couldn't resist saying "while you were sleeping Archers just might have become the best damn band in this town."

All I know is that these boys kill it whether I put them in front of 100 people in my living room or 350 people in a warehouse.



and you should grab the 7" before it is gone.

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HIP HOP HOLLAWEEN - LA to PDX

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HOLLAWEEN

HOLLA HOLLA HOLLA HOLLA HOLLA HOLLA HOLLA HOLLA HOLLA HOLLAWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!

 flyer illustration and design by Rick Delucco - www.rsdelucco.com

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DMLH Live at The Pub at the End of the Universe - Portland, OR - 8/28/10

Daps' Birthday was hella fun in Portland this weekend, thanks to everyone who came out, and mad props to mike for keeping the iphone4 on record.

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"Chapter 134: destination manifestation" - an installation by Leah Violet

This coming First Friday, August 6th, 2010, Denada Gallery will open the door to Leah Violet's imaginative world of personal narrative. Inside this room, guests will find themselves embedded in a tapestry made of the objects and artworks that have collected in her world over the past 2 years.

Chapter 134: destination manifestation is a cumulative response to the cross-country trek that landed her and a backpack, in Portland during early 2008, and the discovery process that followed. The story extends over two years spent living in a SE house known as 134. It begins with graphite drawings and progresses through a multitude of media including paint, handmade paper, textile, photo-transfer and found-object sculpture. Her work infuses post-consumer, recycled folk aesthetics with high-art sensibility to create deeply personal reflections of the physical and spiritual space she inhabits daily. The result is a quilt of coded metaphor in psychedelic tones that sound like the echo of Frida Kahlo heard by visionaries of a future time.

As a complete work, Chapter 134 displays Leah Violet's story of self-actualization with everyday objects and images through the kaleidoscope of hind-sight. Nurtured within her home space, each piece in the room resonates with her energy and vibrates with the ordered chaos of an exploratory life. She shares it now, as she vacates that home for a new journey that has what remains of her belongings filling a veggie-oil school bus. That is the next chapter. For now we have the pleasure of reading this installment to discover our own meaning between her prismatic lines.

More information on the work of Leah Violet and some images of the pieces in progress are available at her blog: http://thisisgettingup.blogspot.com

Chapter 134: destination manifestation
Installation by Leah Violet
Opening First Friday, August 6, 2010
Denada Gallery
1212 SE Division
6-9pm

Mikael Kennedy on the come-up

The homie Mikael Kennedy is getting his propers these days - solo show of 500 polaroids at the Chelsea Hotel, blog write ups, plus this random occurrence. Us VT expats are damn proud of our boy.

Amidst it all he has found the time to deliver a new book collecting Polaroids from 2008. "Passport to Trespass Vol. V - Come Home" documents his journey from New Mexico, back to the East coast, and out to the Northwest during the astrological time of his Saturn Return. We see many familiar faces from the mythos he has built since his first published collection "Still, Not Dead" (2005 interrupt/nine37), but the focus here seems to be on the landscapes he ventured through. Vast scenes in the faded light of instant development, from city nights to mountain roads, offer open ended reflection. Mikael offers little definition for the images until the end of the book where he titles each section to narrate his year of exploration. The images are nostalgic and fresh, memories of right now that remind me of the importance of passing moments.

You can see more images from the collection and purchase this limited edition (100 copies, each signed and numbered by the artist) at mikaelkennedy.com


Also check out this interview which came up about a month ago and I just got around to sharing.

Thirty Days NY Artist Series: Mikael Kennedy from Thirty Days NY on Vimeo.