Panacea is back with a whole new album, Midnight Morning Africa, but we still got a ways to go ’til the 2012 release. Until then, Raw P & K-Murdock give us a tasty track for what’s to come, entitled “The Prelude.” The track isn’t off the album, but is more of a… well, prelude to it (I’m gonna call it a tease, though)
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/28841713" params="player_type=tiny&font=Arial&color=292929" height="18"]
I was first introduced to K-Murdock through his stylings with Restoring Poetry in Music (RPM). He’s not technically a part of the band, but has contributed to it, as you’ll soon see. I’ve mostly gotten to know his work through Panacea and more recently his collaboration with Mega Ran, entitled Forever Famicom. But now going through his SoundCloud, I’m beginning to realize how much more he has to offer.
I’ll admit, I was a Raw Poetic fanatic and didn’t want to hear anything K would do without him. It took me long enough to listen to him and Mega Ran, but now hearing everything else, I realize how expansive his sound is. As much as I love his work in Panacea, I began to lose touch with them in their more recent albums. Going through all his other side projects on SC, from his work with rap artists I’ve admired for years to some absolutely gorgeous female vocals I’ve never heard, I’m pissed I didn’t get to it til now.
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For our second contest with K-Murdock, we’re celebrating the release of The Ronin, a 7-track EP filled with songs produced by K over the past three years. He decided to center the EP around independence because the tracks were all wandering singles floating around in pro tools until he decided to compile them all into an EP. The title, Ronin, also refers to the samurais of the feudal period who were independent of any masters […]
[audio:Wu-Tang-Joint.mp3|titles=The Wu-tang Joint]
Who better to do our first CONTEST with than one of the hip-hop duos that got us goin, Panacea. The two just released The Producer’s Cut of Ink Is My Drink with new & improved interludes and we’ve got a few to give out to you!
How to enter:
(1) hit up the re-released Ink is My Drink on Bandcamp
(2) tell us your favorite track and why through:
(a.) Our Facebook post (‘like’ it!)
(b.) Twitter (bonus for following us!)
* You can submit once on Facebook & once on Twitter for two possible entries into the contest.
** Winner will be chosen by K-Murdock, Raw P & myself based on the best answer (most thoughtful / comical).
Lately I’ve rehashed a couple songs that I’d mentioned before, but only because they’re incredible tracks – “There U R” being among the most incredible of them all. I’ve been a long time fan of Restoring Poetry in Music, and I thought for my 100th post I’d feature a track from, if not my favorite, one of my favorite hip hop albums to date, Pyramids in Moscow.
“There U R” is a relaxing meditation on rekindling that love from long ago with Raw Poetic’s smooth & sincere lyrics. Backup vocals are done by Patrick Fritz, and really put a nice touch on an already heartwarming track. P-Fritz also supports my claim, which I’ve spoken about many times on this blog, that mixing a singer’s voice into a rap song can bring a whole ‘nother element to the piece. Basically, rap + singing = good!
Give it a listen and let me know how you think the two play off each other. Also, if you like this song then definitely check out “Sleep Walkers“, it’s my favorite song by RPM (followed closely by “There U R”).
[audio:ThereUR.mp3|titles=There U R](Download Link in Full Article)
I finally made up my (indecisive) mind and picked a song from Panacea’s 12 Step Program. I first narrowed it down to three that I liked, all for different reasons, and finally came up with “Blue Oceanwave” because of Raw Poetic’s catchy flows and memorable lyrics. Although, lyrics tend to alter each time I play ’em back in my head, so eventually the lyrics started to repeat as something completely different (I tend to do this a lot with music).
The reason I was so hesitant on featuring this one was because of the rave-sounding fire alarms played throughout the chorus. It’s not that they are that bothersome to the beat, I just think the song would do better without ’em. Actually, play it back and tell me what you think I wanna know if this is just me or if others feel the same way.
By the way, the two other songs that came close were “Collard-Fried Grey Sky”, which has a hypnotically beautiful beat, typical of K-Murdock; and “Black Coffee”, the first 30 seconds are pure funkadelic fresh(nass). You can check ’em both out at BandCamp.
[audio:BlueOceanwave.mp3|titles=Blue Oceanwave](Download Link in Full Article)
You may recognize this sound, but under a different group, namely Restoring Poetry in Music (RPM). Both Jason Moore (Raw Poetic) and Kyle Murdock (K-Murdock) started out in RPM, and created a side project, Panacea; but the two groups have some slight variations. RPM is a band consisting of five instrumentalists (or so), where as Panacea consists of K-Murdock on turntables, a sampler, and maybe a few other devices with the help of Damu the Fudgemunk. Both groups have Raw Poetic as the front Emcee, and gee golly gosh is he good… did I really just say that : The difference in sound between the two may seem slight at first, but once you immerse yourself in ’em, you notice the contrasts in style. Raw Poetic’s style is relatively similar throughout the groups, but K-Murdock switches it up, bringing a more progressive, experimental sound to Panacea.
I had quite a few songs I wanted to feature from Panacea’s four LP’s, but I decided to go with Ecosphere from Ink is My Drink. K-Murdock creates a stunningly poignant beat, and features Patrick Fritz (P-Fritz) from RPM, who has an amazing voice, and I mean amazing! Though, this song doesn’t do him justice, so go to one of RPM’s features (here or here) to really capture his stunning vocals. You won’t be disappointed!… I mean, the guy is so good I kinda have a man-crush on him. ;) Anyways, compare this song to RPM’s, and tell me what differences you find… if you’re up to the challenge!
Lastly, I know I’ve mentioned this too many times already, but you really need to check out RPM. They’re one of my favorite hip-hop groups, and I know you will enjoy ’em… maybe even more than Panacea!
[audio:Ecosphere.mp3|titles=Ecosphere](Download Link in Full Article)
Alright, so you caught me, I posted this one a while back (you probably had no idea), but I have a good reason for posting it again (kinda). The original post was the entire album (Pyramids in Moscow), including Sleep Walkers. Since I’m not doing full album posts (for now), I wanted to split up the older album posts. They’ve got some of the best music on the site, so why wouldn’t I show ’em off again… right… i’ve also been studying all day, so I didn’t have as much time :D (so, that could be it too). Alright, to the music!
As I said in the original post, “This is not only my favorite track of the album [Pyramids in Moscow], but one of my favorite songs of all time!” I love Raw Poetic’s rap style against Marlon Vann’s (H2a) trip-hop styled beats. But what really shines is Patrick Fritz’s (P-Fritz) voice: it’s shockingly (!) smoooth. Just listen to it, and I guarantee you’ll enjoy it (at least!). This is some of my best stuff! (or RPM’s, I should say) As always, tell me what ya think. It’s the only reason I write :)
Also, this includes the entire song, which the original post did not!
[audio:SleepWalkers.mp3|titles=Sleep Walkers](Download Link in Full Article)
Background:
Restoring Poetry in Music (RPM) was formed late last century by cousins Jason Moore (Raw Poetic) and Marlon Vann (H2A). Shortly after the group turned into a band enlisting members, Drew Thomas as bassist, Aaron Gause (Enron) as trumpeter and keyboardist, Patrick Fritz (P-Fritz) as lead guitarist and backup vocals, as well as Fred Jackson as drummer (later being replaced by Will Bobbit). A few years down the road H2A stepped down as producer to be replaced by Kyle Murdock (K-Murdock) for the release of their first full-length album, Dream Awake (2004); returning a few years later to help with their second album, Pyramids in Moscow (2007).
If you want to learn more about RPM’s story, go to The Peoples Republic of Hip-Hop & Soul, found here.
But enough of all that, let’s get to the album…
[audio:LessisMore.mp3,Sliders.mp3,ThereUR.mp3,SleepWalkers.mp3,LifeisChange.mp3,AQuietTaste.mp3,AndAnotherOne.mp3|titles=Less is More,Sliders,There U R,Sleep Walkers,Life is Change,A Quiet Taste,And Another One]