NEW FABREEZE BROTHERS SINGLE SNEAK PEAK!

Me and the homie Paul Nice are hard at work on that Fabreeze Brothers album (we got some joints for y'all, trust me on this!)... it'll still be a little while before we finish it up and perfect it, but until then here's one to hold you for a minute. I recorded some rhymes over a sped up JB's "Blow Your Head" loop and Paul ditched the JB's sample, took the acapella, flipped the Lorenz Alexandria "Baltimore Oriole" break, smashed them together and viola- "The Packup (Part 1). Check the snippet below (and if you like it please feel free to share it with, like, everybody on earth)-

The Pack Up (Part 1) / The Fabreeze Brothers ((SNIPPET))

More info on when the vinyl will be available soon. PEACE.

FABREEZE BROTHERS - POWER MAN & IRON FIST / PHYLLIS DILLER 12" - PRE-ORDER NOW

My sometimes ridiculously busy schedule makes it hard for me to stay up to date on a lot of things, especially this blog. So I'm a little late with posting this, but the Fabreeze Brothers' (a.k.a Paul Nice and yours truly Phill Most Chill) debut 12" on the Sure Shot! label, "Power Man & Iron Fist" b/w "Phyllis Diller" is now available for pre-orders, so act fast. The test pressings are already sold out but as of this writing there are still some of the limited edition gold vinyl pressings available (did I say act fast? Yes I did) and you should be cool with the regular black vinyl pressings, but still- need I say it again?- act fast just in case. Ill cover art provided by the uber talented Lance Pilgrim (known for his fantastic work for my man Skeme Richards' Hot Peas & Butter among other things), along with incredible beats by Paul Neezy and emceeing by ya boy PMC makes the cypher complete. I'm sooooo amped up about this project... if we can pull off some of the things we are planning for the upcoming Fabreeze Brothers album it's gonna be insane. But I'm getting ahead of myself... for now please feel free to peep the sound clips and pre-order the debut single right chere if you haven't already. Again, my apologies for being a little slow bringing this info to THAT REAL SCHITT but you can always check me on facebook or swing by the Diggers With Gratitude forums to get the latest breaking Phill Most Chill news (and it looks like there may be a lot of it in 2012). Thanks and PEACE.

BANKRUPT EUROPEANS FAST RAP EP feat. PHILL MOST CHILL

My guys the Bankrupt Europeans have finally dropped Vol. 1 of their "The Platinum Era Series" 12 inches, the first of which features Phill Most Chill (that would be me) rockin' the mic in the lead role of this "The Fast Rap" extended play joint. We did this stuff about five or six years ago and had a ball going back and forth, with my man D.J. Snafu sending me beats and me sending back acapellas over and over 'til we had something. I really liked the B.E.'s sound from the very first listen- had that retro soul feel yet still with a more modern crispness / cleanness. Nod your head music as well as sweat off a few pounds doing the running man on the dance floor music... good stuff in my opinion. Please check out the fruits of our mid-2000's real schitt labor on the Bankrupt Euros' Soundcloud page, and if you're feelin' it (or even if you just want to make a future investment for a record that may be worth millions one day in the random rap future- that's cool too) I've been told that you can find out how to buy yourself a copy or five from the Bankrupt Europeans' Facebook page (or if you don't do Facebook you can email them directly right here). More stuff is coming from the B.E.'s with iconic real rap legends such as Chill Rob G and A.G. among others, so keep an eye out for these cats.

FYI: SOULMAN MIXES CAN STILL BE PURCHASED

I still get a lot of emails asking me about how to buy my many Soulman and Archaeologists Classics CDs... the only one I still have original copies of is Neva Stop Diggin' (and I don't have many of those). Everything else is out of print, but you can still get 'em if you don't mind CD-Rs and no cover art (I do still print out the song lists for the Best Of Archaeologists CDs). Here is the info, read carefully because there are some titles listed below that are available but are not listed in the picture above:

OUT OF PRINT CD-R'S (available without cover or label art- $10)
Soulman Philladelphia Beat Mission
Soulman Plays The Hits (a.k.a. "Soulman 6")
Soulman Drugs
Soulman A Whole New Way Of Walking (modern soul, disco & r&b)
Soulman The Truth Is Forever
Soulman - Beautiful (soft psych rock)
Soulman - Beautiful 2 (more soft psych rock)
Soulman - Come To Me Softly
Soulman - Lovers And Friends (sweet soul)
Soulman - Santa Claus Is A Soulman (funky xmas music and breaks)
Best Of Archaeologists Classics- Soulman's Crate Classics (More Choice Joints)
Best Of Archaeologists Classics- Higher Heights (More Jazz Joints)
Best Of Archaeologists Classics- Soulful (Soul Joints)
Best Of Archaeologists Classics- Instrumentality
Best Of Archaeologists Classics- From The Rock Section
Best Of Archaeologists Classics- Soulman's Choice Joints
Best Of Archaeologists Classics- Funk 45 Joints
Best Of Archaeologists Classics- Highest Pleasure (Jazz Joints)
Best Of Archaeologists Classics- Coolin' (Laid Back Rock, Soul & EZ Joints)
Best Of Archaeologists Classics- Do What You Gotta Do (Soul And Dance Joints)
Best Of Archaeologists Classics- More Funk 45s 

OUT OF PRINT DOUBLE CD-R'S (available without cover or label art- $20)
Soulman World Of Beats Vol. 2- Dig It! (plus Vol. 2.5 The Classics)
Soulman World Of Beats Vol. 3- Off The Meatrack (plus Vol. 3 1/2 Bonus Beats) 

STILL IN PRINT CD's ($20)
Soulman Neva Stop Diggin' 

$270 for all 24 cds

Note: all of the Best Of Archaeologists cds are compilations with songs played in their entirety and come with song lists; most of the Soulman cds are mixes and none of them come with song lists.
You can listen to sound clips from some of these cds on the "ill tapes" page on my site worldofbeats.com.
Let me know what CDs you wish to order and your address and I can give you a total price. SHIPPING IS FREE ON ALL ORDERS WORLDWIDE!
I accept payment through PAYPAL but can also accept US POSTAL MONEY ORDERS or cash in US dollars.
Be sure to note which CDs or tapes you are ordering when you pay through Paypal.

Send Paypal payment to:  philasoul@aol.com
 
Mailing address for payments in cash or US postal money orders:
Phill Stroman
PO Box 12323
Philadelphia, PA 19119
USA
 
Any questions feel free to ask. PEACE.

SOUL BOULDERS 2

Since I don't do much posting on this blog any longer I'm very late with this, but listening to my man Matthew Africa and his man DJ B.Cause's Soul Boulders 2 mix the other day reminded me to post this. If you heard the first Soul Boulders joint a few years back (2005 to be exact) you can rest assured that this is more of the same- "slow, funky soul burners" indeed. Read more about the mix and get info on how to  purchase it (yes, purchase it... support the music if you like the music so maybe you might get more of the music, nahmean?) by going to Matthew's blog I Wish You Would and until you actually order it and receive it you can listen to a sample right down below. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

DJ FORMAT: STATEMENT OF INTENT

My dude DJ Format is coming out with his third album, Statement Of Intent, on February 27th 2012 and here are two good things I can tell you about it. One, it sounds like it's gonna be SMOKIN' hot. Two, I'm gonna be on it! Coincidence? You make the call. Check out the vid above if you haven't already and you'll see what I meant when I used the words "smokin' hot"... apropos yes. Ill appearances by Edan, Mr. Lif, Sureshot La Rock and a guy named Phill Most Chill to name a few or technically I guess to name several. Anyway, please cop the album and also tell all your friends right now that the album is coming and later on when you've copped the album tell all your friends as well as all strangers that it's a smokin' hot album... it won't be a lie. I'm gonna be on it!

THE ART OF FIGHTING WITHOUT FIGHTING

A quick sneak peak snippet of what's to come in 2012 (and it looks like I have a LOT coming, so stay tuned)- the first single from the tag team duo of Phill Most Chill & Paul Nice a.k.a. THE FABREEZE BROTHERS. Hardcore Hip Hop just the way we like it and hopefully you'll like it too like Funkadelic- if so, there's a whole album full of this kind of stuff currently in the works. COMING SOON. More info when available. Happy new year!

POWER MAN & IRON FIST (snippet) / FABREEZE BROTHERS (PHILL MOST CHILL & PAUL NICE) by paulnice

SANTA CLAUS IS A SOULMAN

Glad to see there are still some people out there checking this blog from time to time, even though it's basically dead due to inactivity on my part. Well, just look at me like your favorite uncle- you don't see him all year because he's too busy getting boozed up and chasing women, but damned if he doesn't come around every year right about Christmas time to drop some toys and goodies on you before he disappears back into the night, not to be seen again for another 365 (that's if he makes it through another 365... might take a Christmas miracle for that to happen).
Well, I'm droppin' by with my big ol' sack in my hand here to bless you with a new Soulman mix, one that I actually completed in only a couple of days instead of the usual six months to a year- and they say that miracles never cease. This joint consists of pretty much every funky Xmas record and holiday drumbreak I could think of (although I did forget a few or couldn't get my hands on a couple... I have this DOPE latin record with a nice loop on it, but I have no idea where it's at). Hopefully this will do the job for y'all... feel free to share this with everybody you know that may take a liking to it. Happy holidays and if this is my last post of 2011 (of course it is) have a safe and enjoyable New Year.


Soulman - Santa Claus Is A Soulman by Phill Most Chill SOULMAN

UPDATE: I guess the downloads from Soundcloud got used up real quick, so if you need it I think you can download from the Divshare link below. Best bet is to just use the Firefox browser, get the Download Helper add on and start downloading almost every damn thing you see or hear on the internets. Anyway, here it is again... get your download on (and let me know if there are any problems- I barely know what I'm doing with this technologicable schitt).
 

THE SUE AKINS INTERVIEW

I told you I was gonna try to finish transcribing my interview with Hendrickson Road House's Sue Akins and guess what? I got it done, jack. Had to do it... after all those months of listening to Sue's music and wanting to get in touch with her to tell her how great the album that she made over forty years ago was, and to actually have her pop up on my little blog? And consent to let me interview her? Those of you who know me well know I just don't do the interviewing-and-transcribing thing any more, but I had to make an exception in this case. There are so many untold stories in the world of music- many artists who were fantastically talented but for whatever reason just didn't "make it". Sue is, in my opinion, one of those fantastic talents. The Hendrickson Road House album was released on Two:Dot Records, a very small private label back in 1970 and wasn't heard by many back then. But, as usually happens, when something is great it's going to be discovered eventually. And vinyl collectors did uncover the album years later and made it a highly sought after (and highly priced) rare collectible on the psych / folk market. Now, forty one years later, the Wooden Hill label has reissued this holy grail on cd (is vinyl to come as well? Stay tuned).

PHILL- You grew up in Ojai, California?

SUE- Actually I was born and raised in Ventura, California, which is on the coast. Ojai is about eleven miles inland. I grew up in Ventura, about fourth generation as a matter of fact. I left home when I was seventeen and ended up in Ojai… quite the happening music scene up there, which was great for me because I'd been trying to get into something. I'd been playing around in clubs as a teenager, at the coffee houses and that kind of thing.

P- What was your early life like in Ventura?

S- When I was like five or six I taught myself how to play the piano on this old upright piano that someone gave my dad. I was playing single finger, playing like "Gravy Waltz" or "Exodus"… I was very into music, my parents played a lot of music. I listened to Tchaikovsky, just about everything… musicals, all that stuff. When I was about twelve my dad gave me this guitar I'd been begging for. I would stop by the music store everyday on the way home, so finally one day my mother gives me this stern look and says "Your father wants to speak to you". I went "Oh God!" but when I went (to see what he wanted to talk to me about) he was sitting there holding this guitar! It was like "oh wow!" That was in '63. So I spent the next three months, other than bathroom visits, in the bedroom learning to play guitar.

P- By this time were you taking lessons?

S- I was self taught. My mother said maybe I should take some lessons, but I was already playing. And to me, the idea of reading music, it was like reading Russian. I took about three lessons, and the teacher finally said "you'd rather just be playing, wouldn't you?" And I went "Yeah."  I know some absolute basics about it, but I couldn't sit down and read a piece of music if I had to. I taught myself how to play guitar, piano, auto harp and a couple of other instruments too.

P- So you were pretty much a child prodigy.

S- I don't know about that so much… I think any kid, when they get interested in something and have the opportunity to experiment with it and learn it their way, could probably play any kind of an instrument. Art was another thing that I was interested in. My grandmother was a prolific artist, she had shows all over California. So I wanted to be like my nana, but I really didn't have the same talent in art as I had in music. Music came pretty natural for me.

P- I've seen that with a lot of people that I've talked to over the years, that they did music but they also did some other form of art or something along those lines. I'm kinda like that myself. It's like the creativity manifests in different ways.

S- it does, and I don't know how you are but I'm very fond of math…

P- That's actually one of my specialties.

S- Oh really? Well, they used to call it "the golden thread", which runs through music, art, math, sciences and I can't remember what else.  Most times if you have a talent in one you're going to have a talent in another, or an interest if not a talent. I used to dream in guitar chords! So I think there is some truth to that golden thread thing.

P- I asked you before who your influences were, and you mentioned Peter, Paul and Mary, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Bonnie Raitt…

S- I listened to all of those guys. I think the ladies were really the ones who influenced the kind of music I did. One that I left out, and I don't know how I left her out because she was really number one, was Laura Nyro. I don't know if you're familiar with her…

P- Oh absolutely.

S- I listened to her, and there just was nobody else like her. And there was really nobody like Joan Baez or Joni Mitchell either, but truly Laura Nyro was a pioneer. And just to listen to her I went "Oh, I'll never be as good as her!" But I can do something else, I can do a different style.

P- In listening to the Hendrickson Road House album I was trying to come up with a label for it, since the powers that be seem to always have a need to label music. Would you call it folk, psych, just plain old rock? Because I hear so many different influences.

S- I know, it's hard to say… each song has a different sound to it. Like "Sunny Day Rain" may have a flat honky tonk sound to it. Some of (the album) is folksy. "Theatre King", I called that celestially eerie. "Forget About You" is probably the closest thing to rock, and "Tomorrow Your Sorrow" is soft rock, I guess. ??? and I were talking about it awhile ago.... there's really no title, no name you can put on it that applies across the board. It was just whatever came out of my brain, pretty much. And there was a lot in there.

 P- I think that's when the best music is made, when you're not worried about being pigeonholed into one genre, you just do whatever comes to your mind.

S- I listen to it now and it's hard to be objective. I got to where I wasn't listening to it for a long time, and all I had was a cassette copy I recorded from my sister's stereo. Now that I can hear it better on a cd I'm like "you know what? That really isn't  so bad." I was pretty critical of myself back then. I could hear every clunker, and I can still hear them but it's no big deal.

P- I think the great ones usually are very critical of themselves. There are things you hear in your music that I'm sure that nobody else would ever hear.

S- Oh, sure.

P- How did you come to find out that the album had become such a big collector's item?

S- I got a call in June of 2010 asking if this was Sue Akins; I said well I used to be. (The person) asked "Does 'Hendrickson Road House' mean anything to you?" I said "well yeah, it's a record I produced forty years ago." And he goes "Well, we've been looking for you for two years" and off we went from there. In that first conversation he told me " Do you have any idea what the vinyl is selling for in good condition?" and I said no clue here. And he told me eight or nine hundred dollars, and I said "Are you serious???" I saw an eBay auction, and this was four or five years ago... someone was selling (a copy of the album) and the opening bid was $400, and it sold for $760. I'm sure it gets pirated and people have made tapes... I should have been mad, but I'm not.

ON THE HYPE TIP

Mad pics of the PMC ACRR bundles poppin' up on Facebook and the DWG site, among other spots... super ill. Mr. Cratedigger, I want that fly v-stitch goose, my brother! For those that missed the bundles but still want to cop, you knew it was gonna happen- eBay is calling your name. I may have to bid on that bad boy my damn self.

TELL ME A STORY THAT I BELIEVE

Every now and then something new comes out that makes you say "now THIS is what I've been waiting to hear." That's how I feel about "Tell Me A Tale" by British singer / guitarist Michael Kiwanuka. He's got that classic Charles Stephney sound going strong here but he's certainly doing his own thing at the same time. As Michael says, "Sing me a song that I'll always hear"... I think I'm gonna be hearing this one for a good while. Lovin' the video for this as well as the song itself.

UPDATE: PMC - ALL CUTS RECORDED RAW LP

Just letting those interested know where we stand as of right now: the limited edition bundle with the colored vinyl and extras is SOLD OUT (everything flew out within hours of availability.... wowww). The double black vinyl lp is still available but it too may be sold out very soon, so I would advise any and all wanting to cop the album to do so ASAP. The CDs should be around awhile longer. More info in the comments. Thanks to everyone who bought the record, your support is appreciated to the fullest!

PHILL MOST CHILL - ALL CUTS RECORDED RAW DOUBLE VINYL LP PRE-ORDERS BEGIN ON MONDAY JUNE 6TH

Pre-orders for the limited edition Phill Most Chill "All Cuts Recorded Raw" DOUBLE VINYL LP (ill unreleased joints from the 1987-1990 "On Tempo Jack" era) begin on MONDAY JUNE 6th- be sure to check the Diggers With Gratitude forum for more details right here. I'm gonna keep it funky with y'all... I know these limited edition joints may be a little steep for some folks' budgets, but if you can at all afford it I'd advise you to spring for that full bundle. Not because it's gonna put loot in my pocket but because we tried to lace y'all with a package that hopefully would be worth the money spent and then some. I really think we succeeded. MAN. I'm extremely excited myself in anticipation of getting the finished products in my hands... can't wait like Bart Scott.

I GUARANTEE THERE'S NOT TOO MANY THAT'S MORE NICE: PAUL NICE & MASTA ACE NEW JOINT ON SLICE OF SPICE

Super ill new joint droppin' on Slice-of-Spice Records (Slice-of-Spice is allied up with THAT REAL SCHITT, DWG, In Effect, World Of Beats and everything else that I'm affiliated with, so anything they're droppin' you need to be coppin')- well, new in that SSR is just releasing it but in reality this sureshot was birthed back in 2001. My homie Paul Nice on the beat, legendary Juice Crew alumni Masta Ace on the m.c. rhymes. And of course I can tell you all day and night how fresh this record is, but why trust what I'm telling you when you can just listen on the embedded youtube-avision down below and see for yourself that the schitt is dope on a rope. Ordering info can be found right here (ya lost one if you ain't gettin' that Brooklyn Dodger blue vinyl, my mellow). This record is part uno of the three part Paul Nice Signature Seven Series (I'm not going to explain to you how three equals seven... figure it out for yourself by checking right here) featuring not only Ace but also Guru (R.I.P.) and the diabolical Biz Markie- now that's real Hip Hop star power.
BTW, Paul Nice is comin' back like a super ninja... also dropping new Drum Library records and collaborating with yours truly on some new stuff... more on that as we proceed.

THE HENDRICKSON ROAD HOUSE REISSUE IS A REALITY

Those of you familiar with my Soulman "The Truth Is Forever" and "Beautiful" mixes may know that I am a big fan of the Hendrickson Road House album from 1970, one of the great holy grails of the psych / folk rock world. Through this very blog I was lucky enough to meet the singer / songwriter / guitarist / creator of this amazing record, Sue Akins (actually spelled "Eakins" but changed for the album so that people would get the pronunciation correct). Even got to interview Sue a while back- unfortunately my unwieldy daily schedule (you know, that burdensome encumbrance that keeps me from regularly updating THAT REAL SCHITT) hasn't afforded me the time to transcribe the full interview as of yet. Luckily I don't think Sue (who is just a wonderful woman and has become a good friend of mine) is gonna hold it against me that she may have ended up wasting a couple hours of her time answering a bunch of questions from a Hip Hop dude straight outta Philly, questions and answers that unfortunately may never see the light of day. Well, it was a great experience and an honor for me to be able to talk to the person behind one of my favorite albums, and I'm still gonna try to finish transcribing everything and run the interview right here whenever I can do it (I just know I'm such a bum when it comes to stuff like this that I can't say when I'll get it done, but I'm gonna try). Meanwhile, please check out Sue's Swan Fungus interview, which honestly covers pretty much everything I did and then some.
Anyway, all of this is to inform those that may be interested that the Hendrickson Road House lp reissue is officially a reality- no vinyl as of yet but the 100% legit CD on Wooden Hill is now available for pre-orders via Amazon, Amazon UK and Amazon Japan too. I've already pre-ordered one for self, but I also got an advance copy a minute ago and it sounds real nice (with six bonus tracks- my personal fave being "Beachcomber", a tune that right now I can't get out of my head). The cover and booklet design is on point as well- as I told Sue, Wooden Hill did an excellent job and gave this album the proper reissue treatment that it deserves, something that I really hoped would happen and gratefully it did. Plus I got a shout out in the credits too! Thanks, Sue.