Afro Monk

Ali Berger is only a junior in college and already killing it.  His new Ep 110 Love which will be released on Dec 5th on Street Ritual Records has been on constant repeat this week as my motivation to move into my new home.  Resulting in a few unexpected dance parties!   This celebration of funk, delivers 4 sexy tracks with flavors of glitch hop and old school electrofunk!  If your looking for Rhodes synths, amospheric pads, classy wobbles, and a solid drumbeat to match there will be something here for your fancy!  I have yet to catch a live show, but from what I hear his live PA shows are a funky mixup of on-the-fly arrangements, remixes, and mashups.  With his sound starting to blow up hopefully I will be able to catch a show in the next year.  Until, then we can hear him on his frequent visits to Glitch FM where he rolls with the Lost In Bass crew from Boston

Here is what Ali had to say for himself after I chased him down this week!

How long you been producing?

I remember finishing my first few tracks (ones that I never released) in 2008, but  I had messed around before then. i really got serious in 2009.

DAW?

Ableton Live. I’ve been using it since 2006 when I was doing bad but fun electric bass live looping jams.

Whats your setup for production?

I have a Windows laptop with a some free VSTs I like and Ableton Suite 8. My main controller is a Novation 25SL mk2. I also have a bunch of hardware that I don’t use very often–a Korg EMX, an Akai S2000, a Roland VS-880, and a Roland Alpha Juno 1. I did do seven tracks over the summer using only that hardware (they’re at http://alibergermusic.com/hardwareweekly), and I’m probably going to go back to that workflow for another project some time.

Performance setup?

My laptop, the Korg EMX for live synths and sequencing, the 25SL for channel volumes, filters, and effects, and a monome 40h kit that I built, which I use for clip launching in Ableton. I wrote a script for it that makes it act like two 4×6 APC40-style grids. When I perform I play a live set, so all my tracks are in 4 stems and separated into different loops for the different sections of the song. I have two sets of four channels in Ableton, so I can have two of my tracks going at once, mix different parts from different tunes, apply effects, etc.

Play any other instruments?

I used to play electric bass. I can still groove on the bass, but now I mainly play piano–I’m taking jazz lessons for school, which is a lot of fun.

What inspires you to make this music?

Funk! Hearing anything that grooves makes me want to make tunes.

Favorite artists at the moment?

Lately I’ve been really into Addison Groove–he has a cool way of performing live and there are a lot of videos of him online. I’m also a huge fan of Space Dimension Controller. Eliot Lipp’s new album with Jasia 10 is great too; it was his Beamrider EP that really introduced me to this kind of music and he’s been killing it since then (and before then too).

Major influences?

When I started playing bass I was listening to Larry Graham, Parliament, Average White Band… all kinds of funk, basically. I’ve been looking for ’80s-ish synth-based stuff over the past 6 months, listening to a lot of Trouble Funk, Techmaster P.E.B., and The Time, to name a few artists. I also love Rhodes pianos. Anthony Smith, the keyboardist from my favorite band (Global Funk), used that sound a lot with that group and I use Rhodes sounds in pretty much every track. Global Funk is easily the #1 influence. At the end of high school I spent 2 months listening to just the first hour of ONE of their live shows. As in I barely listened to any other music. Positivity, groove, and most importantly honesty really drew me to Global Funk and I try to put all of that into my music.

Best moment of last year?

Probably opening for Eliot Lipp in Boston. I was just going to see him play, but then when I got there the promoter said their first opener cancelled and asked if I wanted to play. I was all over it.

Your favorite track at the moment to get the crowd moving?

Since I do the live set, it’s usually one of mine… right now it’s probably “Honey, I’m on acid”. (http://aliberger.bandcamp.com/album/honey-the-kids-are-on-acid)  It’s the first track where I really felt comfortable at 130bpm. When I play it live I have a 303-type acid bassline synth going and I get to go crazy with the filter/LFO stuff.

Tour plans/release plans for the next year?

I’m actually only a junior in college, so that takes up a lot of time, but I will be making a huge effort to get booked in CA somewhere (hopefully several places), and I have to play at least one festival. I have a couple in mind that are within reach. And I’ll be playing around Boston a lot, as I always do. As far as releases, I have at least one single I’m gonna finish soon, and I really want to do a full-length concept album. I need to have a solid plan for the album and I think I’m getting close. It will involve outer space and some kind of psychological journey, I can promise that much.

What are your plans for nye?

Chilling with friends in NJ!

What are your tricks for getting creativity juices flowing?

If I don’t have ideas, I try not to force myself to work on tunes. Whenever I do that I make bad music. Sometimes I stand or dance around while I’m producing, to feel more live energy. I try and hear in my head what would make the track groove harder. Also, usually I start a track with a musical idea (like a bassline or a chord progression or a sound, beat, whatever) and try to go as far as I can with that. Then when I run out of ideas I need something non-musical to direct where the track’s gonna go. A story, or some idea of what the track is really about. Then that tells me what sounds or arrangement things I need to do to finish it.

Your From Boston,  Jersey originally  (same here)   How is the east coast bass scene?

I was actually really surprised when I came to Boston at how great the scene is here. It’s not really good for kids under 21, but I quickly figured out some ways around that. There are a bunch of weeklies that put on glitch hop/bass music/dubstep/live electronica: Music Ecology, The Drop, The Monday Mix, and Wobble Wednesdays. Music Ecology also just started a new night called Genesis, which I think is on first Saturdays. All the people running these nights are friendly and awesome. People come out and support, and there are a lot of nights in nearby cities too. The scene isn’t huge, so pretty much everybody who makes or plays electronic music knows everybody else who does. That makes it really easy to meet people. I love the scene out here, basically.

Anybody else you are working with?

No collaborations going on right now, but I have a lot of people I want to sit down with to work on tunes and some of them will happen this winter for sure. That’s all I wanna say right now

Im picturing big things for this young producer in future years and appreciate the time he took to answer some of my questions.  Go grab the EP on December 5th at Addictech!

NicoLuminous has been slowly gaining more visibility and with good reason, his music is incredible. I first heard of him though ill-esha and after I heard his release on Street Ritual I was hooked. I’ll openly admit that I probably play way too much of Nico when I DJ out but too be honest his vibe and style is exactly a perfect mix of sexy bass music and dancefloor hype.

The first time I met Nico was at LIB and had the pleasure of catching a set from him at the Dr.Bronner’s Foam Tub area. He truly is one of the most positive people out there. He just has that good energy vibe and willing to help out with anything. I ran into him again at Sonic Bloom and finally got to catch one of his legendary beat-boxing performances. He has a utility belt with assorted guitar pedals that he uses as he is beat-boxing. It’s truly one of the craziest things I’ve seen. There is no doubt that his is going to be on top of the world soon.

NicoLuminous is prepping for his new release, Love Star, and man is it good! I’ve had the luxury of getting to preview it. This mix gives you a small taste of what is to come as well as great set to throw on while in any mood. I will say Nico has added a bit more hype to this one but its got that sensual vibe he has become known for. I’m stoked to be seeing him at the upcoming ArtOutside festival in Austin. Be on the look out for the official release of Love Star!

TRACK LIST
1. NicoLuminous – Speaker Box REMIX
2. NicoLuminous – Lumadrop
3. NicoLuminous – Love Star
4. NicoLuminous – Will Our Time Come Around?
5. NicoLuminous – Unpredictable by Jamie Foxx REMIX
6. NicoLuminous – Look at Me Now by Chris Brown REMIX
7. NicoLuminous – Tell Me You Care ft. Roisin Murphy
8. NicoLuminous – Bass Maze
9. NicoLuminous – Love Sets You Free
10. NicoLuminous – Sunrize in L.A.
11. NicoLuminous – Rock That
12. NicoLuminous – Love is Real ft. Beyonce & Sean Paul
13. NicoLuminous – Chunga’s Revenge by Gotan Project REMIX ft. Johanna Phraze
14. NicoLuminous – Y La Bassbox Harp ft. Luz Elena Mendoza

Benito releases his highly awaited release on Street Ritual, Exercise Progression. Considering Benito isn’t one of the most well known names right now I highly recommend this one. Elysha and many others had been telling how much I was going to enjoy this one and boy were they right. Street Ritual always delivers with quality and vibes I enjoy.

Exercise Progression isn’t your traditional styled beats in the bass scene. There’s a large amount of unique sounds that blend together well with clean bass lines and wonky styled arps. I’d consider this borderline IDM versus glitch-hop/wonky where most would put this. Elysha considers Benito to be the next Lorn so you can see where I’m coming from. The track Thuggity totally has that hip-hop glitch feel that shines and great crowd pleasure if dropped at the right time. Every track on this one grabs my attention and give me the feeling that no matter which of Benito’s tracks I pick they’ll all have that unique experience of man this is awesome more people should hear this. Benito might not be some superstar right now but give him a bit more and don’t be surprised to see his name amongst some of the greatest right now with this wonky glitch idm sound.

BUY: Benito – Exercise Progression

Proud to bring you all a new track solely being offered via through the site and soundcloud. I’ve had the pleasure of rocking this tune out for awhile and was offered to give it away to you! My good friends Joey and Elysha do an incredible job with the vocals on this track. The vocals give this tune so much more depth. Previewing it to Samples earlier today he commented on how Joey sounds black sometimes, LOL. The layering of Joey’s voice and Elysha was done so well and shows off the incredible dynamics of them together. Their energy and vibe create an VIP version that I had to have first dubs on =)

AfroMonk.com Exclusive!
Benito – Caffeine VIP featuring Joey Mousepad & ill-esha!

Street Ritual is on their A game. Their latest release comes from Thriftworks. The release is called ZenZero and sports some quality album art that get lost in every time I glance at it. Now lets get into what we are all here for… the music.

This is a complete 20 track album! The amount of diversity and quality in this is extremely rare to come by. It’s become extremely popular to release 4-5 track EPs but no Thriftworks defies the trends and release 20 brand new tracks and to top it off 2 FREE tracks to help promo the release! Incredible. You’d think it would be filled with small clips or experimental loops but no not here. There are straight up 20 full tracks ranging in all different styles but with a Thriftworks flavor that is heard in every tune.

Thiftworks style is what I would call melodic, chill, and sexy. The 20 tunes play with such a groove and flow. The synth lines are spectacular and the bass lines aren’t aggressive. There’s a little of everything from midtempo, dubstep, downtempo, and IDM on this. There’s a track “Zanibar Ophanid” that will appeal to any serious gamer out there. A few of my other favorites on this are “Thizza Thizza”, “Eisenblaster”, and “Cloud Chakra”.

I hope to hear some more from Thriftworks in the future and applaud the Street Ritual team on an amazing find. It’s great to see music like this getting a chance in this heavy bass market right now.

If I had to give this album a rating I’d give it a perfect score 5 out of 5, easy. Preview the tracks below and be sure to download the two FREE tracks. You can purchase from the widget as well!

Every once in awhile a release will come out and totally blow me away. This time the amazingly talented and amazing friend Elysha hit me up about the upcoming Nico Luminous EP, Sunrize in LA. She sent it over to me personalized stating that it was some Luvstep that she knew I would love. She was absolutely correct and have been so backed up on reviews but had to write about it after clearing up some messages in my inbox. Elysha has been helping out with the Street Ritual label and man they are putting out some quality work.

Sunrize in LA has some of my favorite tracks on it right now. It’s an absolutely sexy release and has the loveliest female vocals on top of some of these tunes. I’m playing a show soon where it’s strictly sexy beats and can’t wait to make the dance floor get down to a few of these tracks. There’s also a really fun IDM/8-bit tune in there that will make you all giddy after hearing the sample. Nico Luminous has really shown off his talent on this one especially considering this is his second release on Street Ritual.

Be sure to check out the album and BUY the set!

Jay Wikid recently just dropped a two track release. It’s full of glitch and delicious bass. Jay is no new comer by any means. He has epic collabs with Opiuo and Bassnecatar. He has been dropping beats for over 5 years now and is back for more.  This Canadian producer is someone you want to keep your ear out for. He has support by the stunning ill-esha on these tunes and many more.

Bwamp and Robot Rock take you into a bouncy ride of beats and hip-hop influences with vocals squished into a beautiful glitched up sounds. Be sure to pick up the release from him put out by Street Rituals on Additech.

Check out this fresh mix he put together ZOMBIE DISKO!

ARTIST: Nicoluminous
TITLE: Bass Muze
LABEL: Street Ritual
CAT-NO: SRR-005
FORMAT: Digital
RELEASE DATE: 05/29/2010

The hip hop and beat boxing of Nicoluminous has taken form in
synthesizers and drum machines for his second official release, Bass
Muze. Beats and bass dive through the sonic landscape in glorious
pristine west coast flavor, shined up like some hundred spoke 13″ gold
wire rims on an amphibious moon buggy. Nico’s got the juice, the
fiyah, the dirty girdy if you will. Don’t sleep on the super belly
bass bizzle. It’s for rizzle…all inspired by the low end, just in
time for you favorite speaker freakin’ summer festival.

1) Bass Muze
2) Belly Funk
3) Bass Bizzle
4) Souljah Crunk
5) Battery Juice
6) Dirty Girdy
7) Carpet Ride
Keep the FiYa!!!
9) Toki Dub
10) Sinewaves for Mermaids

Download one of the tracks off this release, Me Against the World Souljah Crunk.
Pick up the full release Bass Muze

Nico Luminous is located in Oregon and be on the look out because this dude is a total sleeper. It may seem at first that he is just another beat boxer but then you realize the mans skill as he creates loops on the fly and incorporate all mixed sounds in a full live performance. These are some tracks put down by him. Check out this video where he has taken the time to show you how a live performance can really go deep with using Ableton Live. It’ll makes you wonder what really all is possible when you see someone out there.