Releases
Title: Sinicism EP
Artist: Mophono’s Halftone Society
Catalog number: BJ017
Released: April 2010
Media: Vinyl
Tracklist:
Side A
- Hunger
- Bumps
Side B
- Sinicism (Natural Self Remix)
- Sinicism
- Hunger & Sins (Bonus Drum Edit)
Main Information:
Brooklyn’s longstanding record label Bastard Jazz Recordings is proud to bring you their next 12” from San Francisco based DJ, artist, and producer Mophono, aka DJ Centipede.
Mophono’s resume is a long one – he’s released a short string of incredibly successful 7”s on his own CB Records imprint, including the Gaslamp Killer’s “My Troubled Mind” vinyl, and Mophono’s “The Edge” 7” (which sat at the very top of Turntablelab’s bestseller list for an astounding number of weeks) , and is the man behind the groundbreaking weekly “Change the Beat” party in San Francisco, an absolute institution for beat-heads, crate diggers, trainspotters, and degenerates of all types. Mophono has also performed live with Flying Lotus’s Brainfeeder Festival and opened for Amon Tobin, DJ Food, DJ Krush, Dabrye, and De La Soul with his Skip on Beat records, drum machines and moogs
Now, working for Bastard Jazz under the guise of Mophono’s Halftone Society, Benji has delivered an astounding EP that beautifully manages to toe the line between past & future, organic & electronic, dancefloor & heady. Things start off with “Hunger”, a funk fueled stomper with a monster break, horn stabs, tinkling pianos and deep moog undertones. “Bumps” is a 103 BPM chugger that sounds like an unholy meeting between DJ Shadow, Fela Kuti and Pepper Adams - with a chopped, dusty drum break, and filthy Baritone sax lines weaving in and out. “Sinicism” furthur explores Mophono’s penchant for chopping and splicing the breaks, with more larger than life Baritone sax, and an absolutley brilliant mid-song change-up to a hypnotic exploration of the “Post-Dilla” sound championed by artists like Hudson Mohawke, Ras G, Flying Lotus, Nosaj Thing, etc… – complete with flutes, sax, and a skittish, recessed break. Lastly, Tru Thoughts’ recording artist Natural Self delivers a crushing dancefloor remix of “Sinicism” with an alternately droning and bubbling bassline, synth squiggles, big drums, tribal percussion and more chops & tricks than you can shake a stick at. Also included on the 12” is a bonus beats “drum edit” of both “Hunger” and “Sinicism”.
“Slamming tracks that echo that good old boom bap of Pete Rock & Showbiz but with a new twist….Good stuff.” - Andy Smith (Dynamo Productions, UK)
“Wow this shit is dumb hot — !!!” - MonkOne (Wax Poetics, NYCTrust)
Expertly composed and arranged beats by one of SF’s up and coming talents. Although Mophono’s DJ skills have been evident for years, his productions are earning him the same props now too. “Halftone Society” is a great representation of Mophono’s soul knowledge and beat juggling bravado. This one is a party rocker for sure” –DJ Tomas (Umoja Hi-Fi, SF)
“Two heavyweight beatsmiths twist, break, chop and freak these pieces into some expectedly dirty, crunchy, moody
tunes. The drums nasty and the horns bold. Listen cautiously and keep your guard up!” - Jeremy Sole (KCRW, Afro Funké, Musaics)
Title: My Troubled Mind
Artist: Gaslamp Killer
Catalog number: GLK001
Released: Aug 2009
Media: Vinyl
Tracklist:
Side A
- A Little This
Side B
- A Little That
Main Information:
Music can teleport you to far-off lands and spark nostalgia for distant times. It might elicit lost memories or even summon illusions. You may have never visited Istanbul or São Paulo or lived in the 1960s, but music infects the imagination with a visceral experience of the unknown. The effect is uncanny, mesmerizing, beautiful, and even therapeutic.
But what happens when music pushes its ability to displace to an extreme? When music annihilates your familiar sense of space and warp holes your usual expectations of time? Can listening to music transform you? Los Angeles-based beatsmith and DJ the Gaslamp Killer certainly thinks so. “The music I’m looking for is the stuff that will cut through your brain and just make you feel … almost overwhelmed,” Gaslamp slowly explains whether arranging cosmic abyss mixtapes like I Spit On Your Grave (Obey, 2008) or crafting his own twisted productions, including his just-released debut solo EP My Troubled Mind (Brainfeeder), Gaslamp displays a developing genius for charting hallucinatory odysseys into vertigo.
Title: The Edge
Artist: Mophono
Catalog number: CB7R002/CB7CD02
Released: Oct 2008
Media: Vinyl/CD
Tracklist:
Side A
- The Edge (skip on beat remix)
Side B
- Groovin (Skip on beat remix)
Main Information:
In the era of the producer, Mophono delivers a record of unrivaled force. While demonstrating full respect for the art form and craft, Mophono raises the bar with The Edge, recorded in an entirely new format called Skip on Beat. Sampled by numerous artists The Edge remix, by Mophono, is the first version worthy of being called a remix. The Edge 7” release is epic! From the stomping drums, to the minimal orchestral composition, both side A and side B are dance floor killers, chalk full of complex break’s for any rhythm enthusiast and dj’s alike.
Its more than a record, it’s a machine. Skip on Beat means; no matter where you drop the needle, the record stays on beat. Sticking with the theme of CB Records limited edition vinyl, these collectable 7” are hot and moving fast!
Performing live with the Brainfeeder festival (Flying Lotus brain child) and after opening for Amon Tobin, DJ Food, DJ Krush, Dabrye, and De La Soul with his Skip on Beat records, drum machines and moogs, Mophono intends to set a new standard in live electronic music performance.
Get next to Mophono and feel the powerful pulse of the inner city.
“Mophono’s ear never fails him or his listeners, flipping two classic tracks with heavy drums so they tweak the dancefloor just right. Future-facing beats with one foot anchored firmly in history, this is beat-tastical wizardry from 08 to infinity!!!”
-Kid Kameleon [XLR8R Magazine]
“Inovative as F#@k!!!”
-The Gaslamp Killer
Title: The Tighten Up
Artist: Mophono
Catalog number: CB7R001/CB7CD01
Released: March 2007
Media: Vinyl/CD
Tracklist:
Side A
- Tighten Up Remix
Side B
- The Shuffle (Harlem Shuffle Remix)
- The Shuffle (Skip on Beat Edit)
Main Information:
Starting off with a Massive B-Boy remix of the classic Tighten Up on the A side. With the House of Pain Dj Lethal approved remix of Harlem Shuffle. To the first ever “skip on beat” Mophono remix of Harlem Shuffle This little record is a must have.
Compiling the three versions by the J.B.s, Al Escobar and of coarse Archie Bell and the Drells. Mophono has offered 500 Dj’s, B-boys, B-girls, and collectors a beautiful new dance floor cut with a classic feel.
Power chords in the Harlem Shuffle set this remix apart and contribute to the spectrum of your 7′inch collection and the Mophono sound of up tempo rockers.
Finally the record player in your car can be used with out fear of speed bumps. The Shuffle remix is the first of its kind. Not just a loop for the Dj’s, A composition remix for you and your portable and a big illegal drum sample for all your skipable dj needs.
Title: Iron Chefs
Artist: Various
Catalog number: DCR111
Released: Feb 2006
Media: Vinyl
Tracklist:
Side A
- Mochipet, Mikah 9, Taiwankid “Hope Again”
- Daedelus “Crazy Dancing”
- Mochipet, Ray Barbee “Forwards Back”
- Mitsakos “Compasso”
Side B
- Mophono “Lily”
- Mophono “Live Human Break 7(DJ Centipede Amendment)”
- Eustachian “Cockatoo Flouresence”
- Eustachian “Dotted Chess”
- Spaceheater “Ghostplant”
Main Information:
Beat phreakery from the Bay Area and beyond featuring Daedelus, Mophono, Mikah 9, Mochipet, Ray Barbee’s, Spaceheater, Mitsakos, Eustachian. Find lots more on the Baby Godzilla compilation and keep an ear on that Mochipet character–his shit is DOPE.
Title: Baby Godzilla
Artist: Various
Catalog number: DCR110
Released: Feb 2006
Media: CD
Tracklist:
- Mochipet, Mikah 9, Taiwankid “Hope Again”
- Mophono “Live Human Break 7(DJ Centipede Amendment)”
- Daedelus “Crazy Dancing”
- Spaceheater “Freakfest”
- Mochipet, Ray Barbee “Beats Ballet”
- Mochipet, Machine Drum “Moogporn”
- Mophono “Lily”
- Edit “The Perscription”
- Eustachian “Cockatoo Flouresence”
- Eustachian “Dotted Chess”
- Spaceheater “Ghostplant” (Eustachian’s Trustafarian Mixx)
- Spaceheater “Ghostplant”
- Mochipet “The Shanghai Shuffle”
- Delux “Attention!”
- Edit “Ruffles”
- Bloodysnowman “Magic Rollerskates”
- Mitsakos “Compasso”
- Mochipet, Ray Barbee “Forwards Back”
- Bloodysnowman “Spring”
- Delux “Bixcuit”
Main Information:
Daly City (that’s the mighty Mochipet and crew) goes all glitched out, crunk, and smiley. Twenty cuts of laid back yacht hop tweaked through the prism of Schematic or Skam, but with distinctive west coast vibe that recalls Deep Concentration-era. Beat phreakery from the Bay Area and beyond featuring Daedelus, Mophono, Mikah 9, Mochipet, Ray Barbee’s, Edit, Spaceheater, Mitsakos, Eustachian, Bloodysnowman and Delux.
Title: I Cry Ep
Artist: Mophono
Catalog number: CBR001/CBCD001
Released: May 2005
Media: Vinyl/CD
Tracklist:
Side A
- Intro
- I Cry
- Communication Breakdown
- All Alone … featuring MC Subverse
- Tears
- Her Tears… featuring Bellow Garmon
Side B
- Shedding
- Mophono Remix
- Idiom Creak Remix
- I Don’t Cry
Main Information:
Since it first broke in 2002, “I Cry” has become a genuine word-of-mouth phenomenon in underground music. Now, the wait is over: Mophono’s debut release I Cry is finally available on CB Records.
Mophono was inundated with more than 1000 requests for the song from as far away as Australia and Japan after Transworld Video featured the original mix in the skateboarding film, In Bloom.
“How do I get my hands on that song?” wrote one Belgian record collector who tracked Mophono down via the Internet.
Surprised by the sudden demand, Mophono decided to release the song, plus 8 variations on the original, as an EP on his own label, CB Records.
Fusing elements from hip-hop and rock, I Cry is richly orchestral and sweeping in its emotional scope. For the producer, the album represents a musical exploration of loneliness – each track delves into a different face of solitude, from baroque despair (the gritty “All Alone” featuring MC Subverse) to the exhilaration of flying solo (the buoyant, strings-driven “Tears”).
“I wanted to push the boundary on what a hip-hop album can be,” explained Mophono. “The idea of a ‘concept album’ isn’t new in rock, but it’s rare in hip-hop. So I decided to make an album that is diverse musically, but conceptually unified. You don’t need to relate to the theme to enjoy the music, but it can only enrich the listening experience.”
Hey DJ’s & Collectors, when you buy the I Cry E.P. on vinyl, we suggest
buying two. Features extended mixes & three of the tracks break down to
just drums. Hand numbered, limited edition, of 1000.
