ARTICLE
2006 10 Favourite Labels

ALBUMS
aMute
Art Ensemble of Chicago
Asphalt Jungle
Joseph Auer
Avia Gardner
Tommi Bass
Caural
Cdatakill
Christ.
Conjoint
Contriva
Cursor Minor
DJ Soul Slinger
DJ Wally/DJ Willie Ross
DoF
Electric Penguins
Encre
Flashbulb
Fuckpony
Funckarma
Cedric Gervais
Eglantine Gouzy
Greater Than One
Greg Haines
François Houle
Housemeister
Jan Jelinek
Eleni Karaindrou
Kode9 + Spaceape
Takagi Masakatsu
Mini
Move D
The New Law
Nuuro
Qwel & Meaty Ogre
Rant
Max Richter
Janek Schaefer
Svarte Greiner
Thighpaulsandra
Unwed Sailor
Geoff White
Wilt
Yellow6
Jesse Zubot

COMPILATIONS/MIXES
4 Women No Cry Vol. 2
Analog for Architecture
Assemblage Sessions
Jimmy Van M
King Unique/Nubreed
Monza Club Ibiza
Pop Ambient 2007
Rub-N-Tug
Thankful
The Rorschach Suite

3"/7"/10"/12"/EPs
Baseheadz
Big Toe
Franco Cangelli
Richard Chartier
Deadbeat/Monolake
Depth Affect
Diebombshelters
DJ Koze
Eltron
Johan Fotmeijer
Hellothisisalex
Mitsuaki Komamura
Múm
Ozka
Seekers Who Are Lovers
Strategy
Tandem 5
Andi Teichmann
The Twilight Sad
Ray Valioso

Baseheadz: Hiphop
Mental Recordings

Naming a track “Hiphop” could be interpreted as an act of braggadocio but, judging by the song itself, that's hardly the idea Baseheadz (Netherlands-based producer Satiesh Mathoera) has in mind. The cut's laid-back vibe alone suggests an alternate intent and, true enough, the song's lyrics are worldly and celebratory in spirit as they champion hiphop's enduring power (“They never thought it would last this long but the song will last forever”) and its potential for bridging generations. Mathoera teams up with highly-regarded producer Kev Brown (who's lent his talents to artists like De La Soul and the Jay-Z remix Brown Album) for this 12-inch single.

The four variations are unified by the song's chorus (“It don't stop / You won't block the goals / We got a lot of those / Ever since back then / We rockin' the souls / That's the way it's goin' to have to be / ‘Til the curtain's closed”) while the rhymes themselves are delivered by Brown in an agile yet languorous, backbeat-heavy style. The opening ‘Radio Edit' version dresses the song in a horn-kissed, hiphop-soul-funk vibe while the ‘It's Real Hiphop' mix is delectably slower and crowned by beautiful scratches and cuts by DJ Dunic. Mathoera spotlights his bass chops on the jazz-funk-flavoured ‘Funky Chicken' mix (he cites Level 42's Mark King, Stanley Clarke, Les Claypool, and Jaco Pastorius as bass inspirations) before exiting the disc with a synth-heavy, electro-shuffle ‘Dirty Dirt' mix. What would be better? How about a whole album of equally strong material.

December 2006