DOWNLOADS OF THE WEEK: Raekwon The Chef, Kano, Serenades

Raekwon The Chef - Dope On The Table EP

The Wu-tang member spat this set of rhymes out a couple of years ago and they have been sitting idle on a hard drive ever since. Finally they have emerged as an EP. Samples and cameos from Notorious BIG, Big Boi, Ghostface Killah and Pusha T.

This EP was actually released by the producer of all the tracks, Andrew Kelly. I am hoping that he gave The Chef a heads up first – you probably don’t want to mess with the Clan. It’s a sweet collection of tracks, nothing mind-blowing, but if you need a bit of a re-schooling in how to rap and work a flow into a beat then this could be your textbook.

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Kano - Girls Over Guns

I am a believer in equal rights. We should all be able to enjoy any music we like. We are all caught up on the Odd Future debacle and them not being able to play at BDO but what about Kano and his blatant disregard for human rights!?

He has been spouting that this new mixtape is ONLY for the ladies! He even personally delivered it to 100 ladies inboxes via twitter. Time to stand up my BROTHERS – lets reclaim hip hop and freely listen to what ever we like once again.

If you like your hip hop with a good ol’ blighty accent then Kano is for you. Don’t panic if you pronounce words like ‘house’ as ‘ouse’ for a wee while after listening to it. It’s addictive, it happens to everyone. He really can get his words out oh so well. There are some good beats in here too to rock your neck to.

I invite boys and girls alike to enjoy this free mixtape. It’s time to get in touch with our feminine side.

DOWNLOADS OF THE WEEK

Serenades (Interview & Review) - Oceans

Scandinavia and pop is such a perfect partnership. Is it just because its cold and crisp there and not much else to do than sit inside and stare at mountains and get inspired? Man, what a stereotypical point of view. I really know nothing about Sweden. Serenades sounds like that though – mountains, sunshine, cold, crisp new beginnings.

Serenades are a duo bringing you pure pop made up of Adam Olenius (lead singer of Shout Out Louds) and Markus Krunegard. It’s hazy, its lo-fi, its as washed out as can be. This track is a pretty nice taste of where they seem to be heading. The album is out early next year and the EP just dropped – material is obviously not a problem then.

I caught up with the indie poppers to find out a bit more about them, Sweden and how difficult it was to learn to rhyme in English

You have been getting more and more attention from blogs all over the net. How important do you think blogs are to getting your name out there? Do you think it is more or less valuable that older styles of marketing such as radio and tv?
We haven’t thought of it too much but now when we do…we think blogs are the new radio & tv, radio & tv are the old blogs, old or new we´re happy to get out our music to the world.

How many times has the free track ‘Oceans’ been downloaded? What made you decide to make this particular track free?
No idea how many. It´s an elegant, mysterious track that suggests what we are, sort of. A good first impression on any partner.

Do you think Serenades would have been successful even if Adam was not a member of The Shout Out Louds?
Yes, ABBA was ABBA even if Benny played the organ in Hepstars

You are a duo who both sing. How do you decide who gets to sing which part in the song? Is there ever any conflict between the two of you?
A song called 'Earthquakes' is the only song in which we don´t sing at the same time, we tossed a coin to decide who should start. Singing together all the time is our thing, just like 6 year olds do.

‘Oceans’ features much more electronic sound than previous things you have put on your soundcloud. How do you tend to write a song these days? Do you bother with real instruments or favour electronic production?
Whatever sounds good really. All rules are stupid. We wrote most of the drums on the computer but then we had a friend come in and play the same thing on top. We used real strings and an old Crumar.

What effect does growing up in Sweden have on your music?
Oh, you tell us, but the fact that we have no big waves or cool concerts every night made us stay home writing songs as kids.

Are you bigger in Sweden than anywhere else? What has the response been in Sweden to your EP?
We just started, we're big nowhere, but humble to receive feedback from anywhere. But sure Sweden had some expectations that we used to ride on and passed the line of new bands in the fastlane.

Is it easier to write lyrics in English or Swedish? Which language is easier to rhyme in?
English. The first thing we learned in English class was: rat, hat, bat, cat.

The Shout Out Louds have featured on many TV programmes such as Chuck, The O.C., How I Met Your Mother and One Tree Hill. ‘Oceans’ feels like it would fit with many an emotional television moment. Have you had any offers from anyone to use the song?
Nope, not yet. So far the phones haven't been ringing.

How do you manage to pull off a live show as just a two-piece?
We don´t. Sometimes we go Las Vegas style and have strings and backup-vocals-boys and sometimes (most of the time) we´re five on stage.

What are two positives and two negatives of being in a duo?
Sharing good & bad. If we don't agree, 100 % of the band doesn´t agree with you, that’s bad, something else, no.

The more I keep listening to Oceans the more uplifting and emotional it seems. Does songwriting help you get over bad times? What sort of real life situations make it into your songs?
We guess writing or doing any creative work during bad times is good for you. A lot of words come subconsciously. But school, friends, nightclubs, break-ups and travelling are always top 5.

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If you are greedy and want a bigger slice of the free music download pie then take a peep over at www.electricsockpuppet.com

By Oli Holmes