The Stuyvesants is a collaborative effort between music producer Allan Cole (Algorythm), and record collector Darien Victor Birks (Flwrpt). Both reside in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, NY. The two wanted to work together on a project where they could incorporate several of their talents, related to music and design. They wanted to do this under a moniker that would pay homage to the ’70s. The collaboration allowed them to do four major things, design, beat dig, produce amazing music, and simply have fun. Their first outing was a beatstrumental album called ‘Brooklyn’s Finest’ which got plenty of rewind time on the iPod… classic hip hop instrumentals all of which has a 95/96 feel to them. Depth in production. Have a listen below to one of the tracks from The Finer Things below and head over here to download both volumes 1 + 2 from their site for free!! Trust me you wont be disappointed!

I will be honest, I don’t know much about Speak! but over here on PB, the music comes first – right?

So I pressed play and with little expectation – liked what I heard. On further investigation, I realised the sax entwined smooth groove is courtesy of Michael Uzowuru, an associate of the OFWGKTA crew.  I’m enjoying the Southern Cali producers mellow progressions and sprinklings of instrumentation – Uzowuru has that classic Hip Hop flavour on lock.

Download: SPEAK! & Michael Uzowuru – ‘Promise Land’

There is no doubt – Roy Davis Jr & Peven Everett’s 90′s smash ‘Gabriel’ is a classic and because of this – I often shy away from covers, mash ups and remixes. But something made me give Berlin based production duo Call Super’s a chance…

With a release early this year on new label Five Easy Pieces, JR Seaton and Matt Waites turn their hand to the anthem. Maintaining that all important deep Chicago house bassline, they warped the vocals, add fractures to the rhythm and include some slinky synths – keeping it a tad darker than nostalgia will have you remember.

I got put onto Def Sound unknowingly, after hearing this addictive summer tune and then meeting him shortly after whilst filming our latest exclusive Rehearsal Room with J*Davey.

Fully aware of the influences Def posesses, what he listens to, reads and takes from across the globe and the genre’s he delves into, I’m not surprised by the vast sounds from his latest mixtape, sorry I mean ‘bitchtape’, from LA’s freshest, creative rapper.

The span explains why, with ease, Def navigates through dark, gritty electronic journeys to lighter hip hop waves, to glitchy mismatched beats completed with witty wordplay “Colder than a polar bear’s toenails” to boot. And THIS is apparently something he just knocked up…

Listen and download below.

New Drizzy. It’s not the best quality and it’s tagged – but, it’s listenable.

As ever, Nicki Minaj shines on the feature (well, before she starts singing at least), the track as a whole though – like most of what I’ve heard this time round – is a little lacklustre. It isn’t terrible, it’s just not the “next level sh*t” I was expecting or wanting from Aubrey.

Thank Me Later was one of my favourite albums of last year and with Drake being the ‘switched on, ear-to-the-ground’ type of artist he is – I presumed he would be experimenting more, exploring new areas and new sounds (as I’m sure he promised at one point and as he displayed when he jumped on SBTRKT’s joint) – instead, I feel like I’m getting Thank Me Later part deux. I don’t want to be too presumptuous – this is not the full quality and we haven’t heard the album yet – so, fingers crossed we get something a little more meaty from Take Care (November 15th). [via IFWT]

Update: Updated with CDQ – granted, it does sound better – still not what I need though. My sentiments above about the new material (in general) still stands true.

Discovering new music is a joy. But discovering new music from your own shores is always a little extra special. So, it’s with great pleasure I introduce Kaleem Taylor to you.

Information is sparse about this “R&B/Soul singer from Herfordshire” – his official website is empty, his facebook is relatively quiet and he doesn’t have a soundcloud. Not ideal.

… But what I do know is that I love his new single ‘Never’. Riddled with Soulful influences, his raspy vocals sound both distinctive and strong. This one reminds me of those Soul-slash-R&B jams from the 90′s – the ones with thick basslines and thumping drums – the kind I used to wait for on ‘The Lick’ (ah, those days). A true testament to this young mans aptitude, really.

‘Never’ follows his debut single ‘Blow Out’ which I also just discovered – it too is impressive. Slightly more up-tempo, it shows off his vocal abilities and displays a more funky side to his talents.

I want to keep my eye on this dude, I like what he’s bringing. Listen & download (arrow button) to both ‘Never’ & ‘Blow Out’ below…

To celebrate the release of Radiohead’s TKOL RMX 1234567 album, Thom Yorke played a special 30-minute set at Boiler Room. Tickets disappeared fast and unfortunately for us – deadlines meant we weren’t able to enjoy festivities either. But, never fear – for we are now able to enjoy his entire set – for free – via the world wide web. Follow the link below and download the mix through iTunes – it’s a bit special.

Oh, and if you haven’t already – I highly recommend you listen to/purchase the new remix album – it’s fast become an obsession of mine.

Download: Thom Yorke’s 30-Minute Boiler Room Mix