When I first caught glimpse of Mattafix a couple years back I wasn’t a Big Fan (haha, sorry, just watched this film). I wasn’t really into their style at the time, but thought they had some potential, so I threw ’em into my collection anyway. A couple months went by, and I decided to give ’em another try. At this point I started to realize their talent, eventually becoming obsessed, and playing the album over and over again. I tend to do this a lot with albums I get hooked on, and it really pisses off my roommates (Pyramids in Moscow – being another good example). After my initial obsession subsided, two tracks stood out from the rest (even though I do enjoy a couple others). The first song being Things Have Changed, which I featured a couple months back, and the other being, of course, Stranger Forever.
Stranger Forever doesn’t have as meaningful of lyrics as Things Have Changed, but it does have a quality of its own. The basic premise is about recognizing someone from the past, but not knowing exactly where from. We’ve all had this happen to us… right Well, this is what Preetesh Hirji (vocalist for Mattafix) is trying to get across, and I must say, he does it with grace. Though, the more I listen to his lyrics, it simply sounds like some guy creepin’ on a girl at a bar, but besides that, the song is elegantly done with Hirji’s delicate voice… that’s sometimes confused for a woman’s, but let’s put that aside as well :). So, pop this shizz in (push play), and tell me what you think (of his voice)…
[audio:StrangerForever.mp3|titles=Stranger Forever](Download Link in Full Article)
I recently spotted this song (I’m not typing it out) on Pandora, and thought it made for a good feature. The only problem with it is it’s length (1:50). It’s an intro. for La Phaze’s album, Fin de Cycle, so I can undestand why it’s so short, but it would have been better if it carried on a little while longer. Most of La Phaze’s music seems to be a blend of rap, electro-rock and reggae. I am not the biggest fan of his other works, mostly because I still haven’t grown accustom to MC’s outside of the U.S. (a little more on this here), but this song (still not typing it out) is their stellar track, combining two elements in two different genres to create something new, yet familiar. These “two elements” I am speaking of are (1) the electric-guitar combined with (2) DJ scratching. Recently, I’ve had growing interest in the combination of the two… this song, along with a lot of music by Mel Gibson and the Pants (II), being great examples. The guitar in this, for some reason, reminds me of something Johnny Cash would rock out to, being in a large amphitheater to create that echo sound. It’s a nice quick little piece that won’t take much of your time, so give it a listen and tell me what you think…
Also, if you have any thoughts or info. about La Phrase or Pasderépit@punglist.com (there I said it… or copy/pasted it) please indulge me, I don’t know much about these guys ’cause a lot of the references are in French (and Babelfish can only do so much) :-
[audio:PasdeRepitatPunglistCom.mp3|titles=Pasderépit@punglist.com](Download Link in Post)