It arrived on Monday and I couldn't be more blissed out if I wanted to be! J. Rocc's Some Cold Rock Stuf is indeed THE ALBUM! This is the type of record that's so good that underground headz or shoppers at any Borders Books and Music will be falling in love with it regardless of status, it's just that good. J. Rocc brings the darkness of DJ Shadow on tracks like Stay Fresh and Stop Trying, starts a crazy party on the appropriately named Party, keeps said party burning out of control on Play This (Also), creates a sense of zen peace on Chasing The Sun and continues to keep you guessing by flipping moods and styles throughout the album on a constant basis. It never feels like a chore either, keeping you on your toes yet always entertaining and bringing new perspectives. There is a sense of dubby eighties cut-up production style running throughout, with loops and samples repeating but being changed up with the rhythms. It's stunningly good stuff, perfect for a night out on the town or while cleaning the house, simply universal. Seriously, how many records will keep you charged both on the dance floor and while vacuuming your own floor?
Some Cold Rock Stuf is available for purchase at all the usual digital retailers like iTunes and Amazon, as well as J. Rocc's own label, Stones Throw Records, but if you're going to buy this album I implore that you find yourself a copy of the physical release as each copy, regardless whether it's CD or vinyl, comes with a Mystery Disc, a unique EP of leftover tracks and remixes that J. Rocc has specially assembled for your enjoyment. There are three Mystery Discs in all, two being released in the CD packages with the third being a vinyl exclusive. Both CD Mystery Discs are completely different from each other, while the vinyl is a sort of best-of Mystery Disc featuring tracks from both CD versions, though you've got to get all three to get all the tracks and trust me, they're all worth it! On top of that, the CD features incredible artwork and the vinyl is even further over the top with a giant double-sided poster, a page of stickers and incredible illustrations from Gustavo Eandi on the awesome, Jeff Jank-designed packaging. You can get a peak at the packaging via Stones Throw's website.
In this digital age I understand that it's harder to find your favorite albums in stores, leading to more purchases in the digital domain. While I suggest you get the physical release of Some Cold Rock Stuf, if you're going to go digital please do so via Stones Throw themselves. Being an indie label, more of the money will end up in their pockets compared to going through any other digital retailers, and the more sales they have means more cool releases like this or the forthcoming Madvillain album will see the light of day.
Stones Throw doesn't like blogs posting their tracks for download so I'm going to repost their soundcloud stream of Play This (Also) for you to check out as well as J. Rocc's appearance on Exploring Future Beats from last year where he plays tracks from the album and the Mystery Discs. If you want to hear samples of each track from the album you can hit the official page at Stones Throw's and get blown away. Hopefully you'll find yourself just as knocked out as I am! Enjoy and remember to support the artists and music you love!
J Rocc - Play This Too by stonesthrow
Exploring Future Beats: J Rocc previews Some Cold Rock Stuf on BBC Radio 1 by stonesthrow
No comments:
Post a Comment