JJ DOOM - BOOKHEAD

From the upcoming Keys To The Cuff: Butter Edition from JJ DOOM (that's Jneiro Jarel and, of course, DOOM) is the brand new 'BOOKHEAD." The track, which partially premiered as a Clams Casino collaboration with DOOM entitled "BOOKFIEND" a month back also has a new video from the visual guidance of Steve Powers. Check it out below and stay alert for the album, coming soon from Lex Records.

New Clams Casino - Bookend (ft. MF Doom)

Still in the pantheon of untouchable, legendary hip-hop figures from the 2000s, anything that MF Doom gets his hands on is worth attention. This time, it's with surprising up-and-comer (name the last time you saw MF Doom working with a guy who wasn't at least some kind of veteran producer) Clams Casino. Showing Casino's breadth of textural abilities, the subtle loops in "Bookend" let Doom star, as he should.

Julian Malone - 909

No label has been getting better press lately more than Stones Throw Records. The underground hip-hop label has another gem to offer in its February arsenal, in the form of Julian Malone. His newest cut, "909," comes his sure-to-be-excellent mixtape Diff.Rnt, and uses one of Clams Casino's more well-known A$AP Rocky beats featured in "Bass."

Check out the track below.

Mikky Ekko - Pull Me Down (Ryan Hemsworth Remix)

Producer Ryan Hemsworth is a name you should be becoming more familiar with. He's dished out welcomed remixes of heavy favorites from Grimes and Frank Ocean, splitting the difference between menial pop difference maker and new wave producer. He's new remix of Mikky Ekko's "Pull Me Down" was originally a Clams Casino track, so the remix adds even more atmospheric texture to a lofty pop-friendly track. Check it out below.

Download - Clams Casino's Instrumental Mixtape 2: B-Sides

A few weeks back, everyone's new favorite producer Clams Casino dropped his Instrumental Mixtape 2 as a free 14-track download. Considering he probably has a lot more in his back-catalog, the New Jersey-native released a new addition, his instrumental B-Sides.

You can download the tape here, which features instrumentals from Mac Miller, Lil' B, and others.

Big K.R.I.T. - Moon and Stars (Clams Casino Remix)

There are few better right now shilling out remixes than Clams Casino, whose made enough of a name on his own to be dutifully recognized. The newest cut, from Big K.R.I.T.'s "Moon and Stars" from his 2010 tape K.R.I.T. Wuz Here. Listen to the mix below, and grab the instrumental version here.

Albums of the Month - November 2011

Albums of the Month - November 2011

Only one month remains before our annual (now expanded) end of the year lists. But for now, here's my three favorite albums for the month of November.

3. Thee Oh Sees - Carrion Crawler/The Dream
Parts messy punk interludes, part downtrodden midnight white boy blues, Carrion Crawler/The Dream is the most recent joyful (and mysterious) jab by Thee Oh Sees at a genre they seem to patent. There's a casual knuckle-splitting feeling throughout the album, particularly in the first half with gems like "Contraption/Soul Desert" which very often forgets to find itself, in the very best way.

Thee Oh Sees - Carrion Crawler/The Dream (Insound)

2. A$AP Rocky - LIVELOVEA$AP
Really? The super-drug addled breakout New York mixtape from a guy who has a dollar sign in his name? Unfair perception. No one's jumping out saying the A$AP Rocky's LIVELOVEA$AP is the best rap album of the year, because it isn't. He doesn't match the visceral thrill of Kendrick Lamar's Section.80 or Big K.R.I.T.'s Returnof4eva, or the utter fantastic weirdness of Danny Brown's XXX, but there's always something to be made of the case of a rapper that just does the part right. No mask of fake attitude, no presumptions, damning and memorable beats (constructed by Clams Casino), and a kid who has true potential. It may come a little empty for some, but for others, this is how modern rap should be built.

A$AP Rocky - LIVELOVEA$AP (Download)

1. Atlas Sound - Parallax
If Brandford Cox's second prominent project, Atlas Sound, is confusing anybody with Deerhunter, Cox's more well-known outfit, don't worry. As the years and sheer volume of Cox's work continue to pile on, the collective sounds begin to aesthetically merge: subtle strings of synthetic noise effortless in the background of his echoing (yet quiet) vocal style, letting his songwriter play the forefront. "Te Amo," one of Parallax's more stellar outputs, sounds particularly akin to the final track on Deerhunter's previous album Halcyon Digest, "He Would Have Laughed." From then on out, however, the album builds itself as a particular outlier, collectively unique to the new, crafty Bradford Cox. The album's final calls drift into a dark, ethereal sound, that is until you hear "Lightworks," the most upbeat thing in the man's endless catalog. One of which will continue to grow and perfect itself.

Atlas Sound - Parallax (Insound)