BADBADNOTGOOD Biography

(l to r - Matthew Tavares, Alexander Sowinski, Chester Hanson)

It seems natural that aspiring jazz musicians (at Toronto's) prestigious Humber Jazz Program would be informed by the music they're listening to, only their instructors probably presume that their listening to the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Vijay Iyer or really getting out there with Steve Coleman. MF Doom and Odd Future notsomuch.

Collaborating first on an arrangement of Gucci Mane's Lemonade it was their performance project based on a piece of Tyler The Creator's music that tanked with their instructors but went viral online when they later released it as the Odd Future Sessions Part 1 (they later released part 2 as well).  This caught The Creator's attention from deep in a suburban basement lair with egg carton and foam stapled over ever possible surface, dimpling the walls in strange undulating patterns that absorbed him endlessly.

This led to direct collaborations with Tyler The Creator (such as Fish) as well as work with Frank Ocean who can't play an instrument to save his life.  Most exciting have been the collaborations between BADBADNOTGOOD or BBNG with Ghostface Killah and on occasion Danny Brown such as the greasy Six Degrees.

Now comes word that Six Degrees will appear on an entire Frank Dukes produced album to be entitled Sour Soul (due out on Feb. 17 on Lex).  Pretty Tony himself will rap on every single cut and the second single released to high anticipation is Gunshowers. 

The Gaslamp Killer - Boiler Room DJ set

In a long line of Turkish American musical visionary producers and genuine lovers of music, including Ahmet Ertegun and Arif Mardin, Willliam Benjamin Bensussen (also know as The Gaslamp Killer) stands alone.  Listen here to the Killer at London's Boiler Room debut the bulk of the stupendous Breakthrough LP, just released on Brainfeeder, in this devastating hour and a quarter DJ set.  Seeing The Gaslamp Killer execute his own material beyond-deftly in a club context is illuminating.  His raw enthusiasm for music- as expressed in his sufi-mental dance style - is only the entry point.  Hear him redefine so-called 'Bass Music' to suit his dervish instincts.  In his typically amped fashion  as the set dances through material of his own featuring Gonjasufi as well as recent releases from (Brainfeeder label honcho) Flying Lotus (Pattern and Grid World EP) and his cohort Thundercat including DMT Song, a hilarious Mark Wahlberg sample from The Fighter, new instrumental hip hop bangers from in demand producers Hudson Mohawke (solo) and with Lunice as TNGHT (which actually sound good in a well executed mix for once), some Ghetto Tech from both DJ Rashad and a quick cut of Danny Brown, Dilla, Wu-Tang's Ice Cream, Portland producer EPROM's Regis Chillbin,  Frank Ocean's Pink Matter, Clark's Fantasm Planes, the jungle classic Dead Dred, Zomby, Flosstradumus Lana's Theme, Coki, Zebra Katz, and Dimlite.  The cherry on the sundae likely comes just past the hour mark with Andre 3000 and Pimp C's verse off UGK's International Players- suddenly his whole system drops out on him and without losing any momentum at all gets it back up and wobbles the opening of Glory by Domo Genesis.  Somehow the whole set culminates with Jimi Hendrix's Star Spangled Banner mixed pitch perfectly into Pink Floyd's Great Gig In The Sky. Psychedelia. 

Then in several deep bows of reverence he closes his set with a sad, erstwhile Mariachi trumpet ballad.