Krapedyh

Above is a link to a new remix of Hyde Park from Neighborhood Suicide. Nice uptempo reworking from this secretive ‘new’ artist;-) Photo by Constance K.Big ups to everyone who has been playing this record at hip-hop college radio!!! KCSC in Chico, KFJC, KSSU, KSJS, WPKN/WPKM, WRDP in Chicago!, WHMB, WERU,  WMBR, WLUW and everyone else who has been blowing up the airwaves with this.  Big shout out to Billy Jam!!

 We would be remiss if we didn’t direct you to an excellent review of RCF Tempus on the blog Parasites and Sycophants. They wrote “By the time you get to “Waiting For The Sun,” it should be well noted that Remote Control Frequencies are as likely to sound like old hip hop as they are to evoke thoughts of sweeping landscapes, the future highway, and the overall backdrop of a looping dark. Made for late nights with the windows down and the world in your face, so if you’ve got some slots in your summer soundtrack waiting to be filled, Tempus will be your late night lover.”

RCF’s new CD Tempus was release June 6 on The Secret Life of Sound (a mysterious limited run digi-pak CD with no apparent track listing) .  Since that time, a number of reviews (both positive and negative) have appeared on the scene. Untyteld said of the record “Tempus is a fusion of hip hop and analog-driven improvisation rock music mashing up with unimaginable overdose of noise effects.” The Devil Has the Best Tuna said “Tempus’ is a veritable kaleidoscope of musical genres incorporating hip-hop, psychedelia, drum ‘n bass and electronica. Twist one way and you’re listening to an obscure mash up of William S Burroughs and DJ Shadow twist another way and it’s Gnarls Barkley on PCP, twist again and it’s David Bowie fronting Wizzard”. Other favorable mentions include a glowing review in Chicago’s own Gaper’s Block and an interview with R-Rock on What to Wear During an Orange Alert.The band has elected to wait to release ‘Tempus’ on iTunes (although the record is available on Dig Station) until a ‘Black Box’ edition is completed later this year. Said edition of the physical CD, as well as the iTunes release, will include additional material including alternates mixes, remixes, demos and unreleased songs. Oh and of course there had to be at least one stinker, right? Like that two word review of Spinal Tap’s Shark Sandwich — which read only ‘Shit sandwich.’ — RCF’s received the most unfavorable review on the ‘Have You Heard’  blog which is quoted as saying…“I’ve seen Chicago-based artist Remote Control Frequencies described as an “amoebic” music project, and I’d have to agree. The songs on Tempus have no definite shape, and there’s nothing striking about them. The lyrics are halfheartedly asserted, but you barely notice since everything is drowned out with reverb anyway. Breathy near wordless Shoegaze style vocals don’t accentuate hip-hop, a style predicated on language.”I guess someone should tell them that pseudopod comparisons were meant to refer to the band’s lineup, not to describe a floating formless structure of song. That actually sounds pretty intriguing, we’ll have to try that some time.

PJ Sumroc is a promising young rapper from Chicago (by way of Orlando).  You’ve probably heard him on releases such as the Ill Noise Redux mixtape, RCF releases Mixtape Devils and the ‘Tempus’ CD. He his also known in underground work with the Beat Creatures, alongside noted O-town MCs Krohnemics and Chud 9 and sick beats by producer Drunken Master. But we digress. The Dead Soldiers mixtape is a collection of unreleased solo tracks in the way of remixes, collabos and various odds and ends.  You can download it for free here.

The upcoming PJ Sumroc mixtape, Dead Soliders, will be released later this week.is record is street level in that it is fueled by battle rhymes and “dirty obese poems”.  PJ himself turns out to be something of a big teddy bear, only not as cute.  His long-awaiteddebut “PBR” has again been delayed until September 2008.  Video for “Just One Hit” comingsoon, a track produced by K-the-i-??? from “PBR”.  Stay tuned for ‘Dead Soldiers’ sports fans.