Bonafide Magazine @ MSN: Watch: All Ears a documentary on LA’s beat scene

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Watch: All Ears a documentary on LA’s beat scene Posted: 17 Oct 2013 09:00 AM PDT All Ears is a documentary focusing on the famous Beat scene of Los Angeles. The L.A. community behind Low End Theory is often cited as origin of a now worldwide movement, and All Ears offers an insight into the minds of some of the producers responsible for the thriving scene (dak, Ras G, Sacred, Kutmah, Dibia$e, House Shoes, DJ Nobody & many more). Looking at the network of record labels, collectives and events that have formed a united community that is continuing to grow and diversify by the day, the documentary also reflects upon the great impact of the scene’s two most notable figures, Madlib and the late J Dilla. The All Ears documentary will be screening in London at The Montpelier Back Room Cinema, Peckham on the 13th, 14th, 15th 16th, 20th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd of October. Screening times are 6.30pm and 8.30pm. Tickets: £3.50 PLEASE NOTE: tickets can be bought on the day, no need to pre-order or anything. Cinema capacity is 24, so it’ll be first come first served. Check out the two trailers for All Ears below.

Review: Ras G – Back on the Planet Posted: 17 Oct 2013 07:35 AM PDT The West Coast of the US seems to be the place when one is looking for the influence of Sun Ra's Arkestra on contemporary music. A constant touchstone for hip-hop beat-makers such as Madlib and Flying Lotus, the fiercely enigmatic and space-fixated Ra was undoubtedly a lone voice, but also one whose resonance carries through to a generation of equally out-there presences. Ras G is perhaps most evident of all in his shouldering of the Arkestral mission; borrowing much of the same science fiction and Egyptian mysticism of his predecessor in both his artwork and rhetoric. However, this is not to suggest that Ras G's music is a direct copy of Ra's strange and eclectic jazz; instead he utilises the source material of the Arkestra and their contemporaries and combines it with a broad mix of other samples to create rickety hip-hop instrumentals. A prolific producer, having released approximately 8 albums since 2008, Ras' work on Back on the Planet does little to deviate from previous efforts. The bass is a constant at the foreground of the mix, flattening the listener in One 4 Kutmah while a whizzing landscape of saw-tooth keyboards drives the track pulsing forward. Things have a tossed-off feel, like the conclusion of several hours grooving on the same riffs and beats, though this is not entirely to the album's detriment. There are definite contemporaries of Ras G's sound, Madlib and Ras' Brainfeeder associates the Gaslamp Killer and Flying Lotus being the most notable. Elsewhere vocal samples from MF Doom and Erykah Badu come off like artefacts touched for luck, or nods towards possible future collaborators. The tracks swim from beat-driven efforts like Been Cosmic to woozy noise experiments, such as Asteroid Storm. It all comes from a place of evoked mood, experiments seen through hazes of medicinal smoke. Ras G may not be pushing himself into much new territory with Back on the Planet, but one is given the sense that he doesn't necessarily need to. The afro-centric futurism of his work is a found place, one that deserves frequent visits. It is the world that is catching up gradually to Ras G's charm, while he waits patiently in outer space for the plaudits he deserves. Words: Andrew Spragg