Amon Tobin is an electronic music producer from Brazil. This release is very similar to one of his previous records Foley Room, relying heavily on field recordings, though this time mixed in with some of his own electronic compositions.
The Gaslamp Killer is an alternative hip hop producer from Los Angeles, California. He delivers a psychedelic sound achieved my combining hip hop, jazz, funk, rock and so on. There is a decent variety of collaborations here, with my favourites being from Gonjasufi, who's album he previously produced. There is plenty here to warrant multiple listens as ever track has tons of samples woven in and out of each other. It's almost like trying to solve a puzzle, trying to pick apart every part of each track on offer.
Reparation play crushing, heavy down-tempo hardcore, and come from the UK. This is their debut release and are obviously keen on playing at the heaviest end of the hardcore spectrum. The production on this double EP is great aswell. You can get the record for any price you wish to pay over on their bandcamp page.
Power Trip are a great hardcore thrash band from Dallas, Texas. They play intense and incredibly aggressive music with influences from across the board, from Bad Brains to Sepultura. If you liked Pulling Teeth who I covered early on in this blog then check out Power Trip below. This demo is available for free on Bandcamp.
Jaguarz were a straight edge hardcore band from Boston. One of the few bands on Lockin' Out Records that I haven't listened to as I just couldn't get hold of it. Now recently made available for free via Bandcamp, I had no excuse but to give it a listen. This version comes with the song "Survival" on the end as well, that previously only appeared on a compilation put out by the record label.
Zaga Zaga are a chaotic hardcore band that I stumbled upon by chance whilst trawling Bandcamp for something to listen to, and I was so happy I did. Although chaotic, they have a bit of a post-hardcore vibe going on aswell.
Xerxes are a combination of aggressive and melodic hardcore. If you liked Pianos Become The Teeth, then you will have a good basis of what this band are about. They are very dark and at times can play with ferocious speed. This is a 2 track EP released in 2010 that acts as a good taster to the band, but if you went a full length as a starting point I recommend listening to Our Home Is A Deathbed.
