Music Review: Art Don’t Sleep - From L.A. With Love
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If your musical taste hasn’t matured past the cookie cutter, major label acts that hold FM radio hostage, then this CD might not be for you. You may need a little more time to let your audio palate mature past the boy/girl group, super thug, wanna be R&B and pop music so that you can truly enjoy the exhibition of art that is From L.A. With Love. Milan Records continues to make a name for themselves as the new label to watch, with their impressive selection of musical releases. Their latest effort is yet another example of what’s in store for the upstart indie.
From L.A. With Love”, produced by Andrew Lojero, is a effort of love in itself, as it is a compilation of new music and art from artists and musicians based in the City Of Angeles. The vibe of the album is pure L.A., with the emphasis on the underground, downtown scene. “Lojero pulled together such well known Angelino’s as Flying Lotus, The Gaslamp Killer feat. Gonjasufi, Computer Jay, Georgia Anne Muldrow, and Madlib just to name a few. The result is a hodgepodge of super cool sounds that you’d expect to hear in some hidden, hot spot near the Skid Row district. Much of the music could serve as a soundtrack to the streets and the mismatched, thousand dollar high rise lofts that overlook the desperate streets of Downtown Los Angeles. Try driving down Seventh or Main, after midnight with A Race of Angels’ haunting “Just Begun” and you’ll see what I mean.
Things get interesting when you open the CD booklet, as each song has custom artwork to match. Artist such as Mike Crivello, Azul 213, B+, Dez Einswell, Midtz, and Retna add their artistic vision to the CD. From L.A. With Love hopes to put a spotlight on the art movement that has begun in Los Angeles. This CD will go a long way in doing just that. Standout tracks are many, including Nathan Yell aka Aloe Blacc's "Goodbye",and the horn fueled intro of Adventure Time's "This Dome Is Our Home." Gerorgia Anne Muldrow’s “Killa Peach” is as funky as a computer and vocoder can get, while the beautiful synths and vocals of “1000 Fold” by Computer Jay feat. The Gray Kid will have you singing the hook in the shower in no time. The Beat Knoducta, Madlib, shows up in a few of his aliases with Madlib’s Sound Directions “Wildflower” and Yesterday’s New Quintet’s “I Remember John Coltrane”, both appearing on the disc.
If that wasn’t enough From L.A. With Love managed to get a clip of the late DJ Dusk, well known L.A. party wrecker and music lord, as he emceed the crowd with his patented “Let Me Knoooooow”. Carlos Nino & Miguel Atwood-Ferguson contribute a dedication to J Dilla with their “Nag Champa”, closing the CD and ending the audio art exhibit. I suggest you cop this CD and let your taste evolve with the emerging art movement of Los Angeles.