[Album Stream] Hear Pillowfight (Dan The Automator x Emily Wells x Kid Koala) Self Titled Debut LP

Sorry for the recent leave of absence from the SKOA scene. I've been working on some personal as well as other SKOA projects for this year. For those who enjoyed the Beats For Daze series, no worries! It will be back real soon. But speaking of beats for days, one of my favorite producers Dan The Automator (producer of Gorillaz S/T album, Deltron 3030 and Handsome Boy Modelling School) is back with his latest project Pillowfight featuing singer songwriter Emily Wells and frequent collaborator DJ Kid Koala.

A couple of months back, we debuted the first cut from the group titled "In The Afternoon" but now thanks to the folks of at the Huffington Post, you can hear the groups debut LP in full a week ahead of its release. Check it out and make sure you pick it up next Tuesday when it release. Automator always makes some good tunage.

[SKOA Presents] Beats For Daze #2 (All Hallows Edition)

Once again back is the incredible, your neighborhood friendly Rocko Rock with a brand new installment of Beats For Daze. For those unfamiliar with the series, BFD is monthly playlist compiled based around producers (the unsung heroes of hip hop) who create some of my favorite head nodding tracks of the past and current along with some unreleased goodies as well, all rolled up into one nice hour plus mixture for your ear drums' enjoyment. I know that sounds like I just tried to pitch a TV show or product, sorry. Those that missed out on our first installment of the series (which hit 10,000 plays in month on 8tracks!) should check it out here.

Being October, we felt necessary to dedicate this month's mixture to the upcoming holiday, Halloween. That's right, this month we got 31 tracks of goodness all inspired from the most spooky fun day of the year. Don't worry the always obvious choice, Michael Jackson's "Thriller" will not make an appearance on the mixtape although I'm a bit sad I didn't just add Vincent Price's epic laugh. But I did find some nice a nice Halloween vinyl in my record crate to atmosphere of the total mix. It's a bit cheesy but whatever. Among these tracks we got some classics from Danger Mouse when he was known Pelican City, Dan The Automator when he just went by Automator, Portishead, Massive Attack, The Herbaliser and more. With the inclusion of some newer tunes from The Gaslamp Killer, Thavius Beck as well as others and one of my favorite creepy DJ Shadow jams "Give Me Back The Nights", a track so evil I had to take a picture of myself listening to it, which you view below. So set a spell for awhile and check out the full mix in the player above.

And if you are still reading this, I like to say thank you for taking the time and listening to our Beats For Daze playlist, it really means a lot to myself and SKoA. We're working on something super special for the next month as well as some more awesome things for the following months. So make sure you check out other mixtapes and if you are on 8Tracks.com follow us and spread the good music around. Have an awesome Halloween!

<3 Rocko loves you.

[SKOA Presents] Beats For Daze #1

Sup everyone! Your friendly neighborhood Rocko here bringing you a new project that I've been working on for the past week or so while I was gearing up to head to the bay area this week. So lemme give you a little back story, as i've been working on the Some Kind of Mixtape series with the rest of the awesome crew here at SKoA and getting super obsessed with compiling artist/producer playlist on Spotify (username: somekindofrocko. I know cheap plug.) I wanted to do something of the sort for the readers of SKoA that wasn't just contributing a few new tracks every month. So I hit up The Kibbs aka Kibbe and said, "YO I GOT DIS PROJEKT I WANT TO DROP FOR ALL THE FLY HUNNIES OUT DER" cuz I talk like that and she was like "That sounds like a super awesome idea", in her best Rock Mama voice. Note: this was all done over AIM so i'm just making shit up. But anyways after a few days of tinkering, coming up with art designs and shit, the series Beats For Daze was born.

Much like the fashion of the SKoA monthly mixture, I (and hopefully some awesome guests) will be dropping a mixtape roughly around the middle of each month of some of my favorite headnodding tracks, some classic, some freshly off the grill. So without further ado, hear is the first installment in the Beats For Daze series. I originally tried mixing the tracks together like an actual DJ session but didn't hit the expectation I was looking for. See: FAILURE. But I hope you guys enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed compiling it together and I hope you also discover some new artists that you haven't heard before and go out and support their shit. Because without support, how are they supposed to make more dope shit? Sell drugs? Maybe.

So on this month's installment we got classic tracks from The Budos Band, Dan The Automator's Lovage, RJD2 and pre rave/mainstream Calvin Harris and for the new shit we got tracks from recently released albums by Blockhead, Flea, Alchemist, Jeremiah Jae produced by Flying Lotus, Vacationer (thanks whoever put me on to them in a Turntable.fm session) Dark Time Sunshine and more with the addition of some unreleased tracks. So click on the artwork above to kick this session off. BTW keep a close eye on the artwork as it will change monthly and has some nice little easter egg type shit in it for video game/comics/entertainment and music lovers alike. Enjoy!

[Watch] Kid Koala - "8 bit Blues (Chicago to LA to NY)" (Video)

DJ Mastermind Kid Koala has been rather busy within the last year or so. He recently released a 132-page graphic novel drawn entirely on etchboard and a "still picture score" to accompany it, he hooked back up with Dan The Automator on a new group Pillowfight featuring singer/songwriter Emily Wells, who are set to release an album later this year. Then linked back up with Automator once again and Del The Funky Homosapien to put the finishing touchs on the long awaited Deltron sequel Deltron Event II dropping later this year. And even with all that on his plate Kid Koala is gearing up to release a new solo LP this September. 

Thats right, Koala makes his triumphant return with his forthcoming album 12 bit Blues dropping Sept. 17 via Ninja Tune. Koala's new album was inspired by, you guessed it, the blues and how it was always about stripping music back to its bare essentials. So he took it back to the old school way of recording Hip Hop beats with Emu SP1200 sampler, no sequencing software and used the pads on the machine and a multitrack playing each part of the tracks in real time, before finally returning and adding cuts over the top. Fuck your Apple Garageband and Logic Pro.

You can peep the video above for the album cut "8 bit Blues (Chicago to LA to NY)" which was filmed in one shot, no edits and features just a map, magic drawing boards, a couple of etch-a-sketches and more! And if you still haven't had your Kid Koala fill, you can go download another cut from the album "5 bit Blues" over at Kid Koala's website. While you are there make sure you check out Koala's upcoming tour dates and pre-order the new album which will have a limited edition first run of the album that include a working 'cardboard, hand powered turntable kit'. 

[News] Deltron 3030's New Album Coming In September

The project of Dan The Automator, Kid Koala and Del The Funky Homosapien better known as Deltron 3030 have been readying the release of a sophomore album since 2006. Their only release to date was back in the millennium some 12 years ago. Yesterday some news from the camp hit the net though via CBC Music Dan the Automator let loose the news the album is finished and will mostly likely be released in September: "The record’s done with one or two maybe small touch ups…What I’m about [is] not changing any songs more like little, in between segue things." So prepare for some new material that could melt our minds. CoS also points towards a video of some material they debuted in Toronto over the past weekend tentatively titled "I Have Seen".

[Download] Pillowfight (Dan The Automator x Emily Wells) - "In The Afternoon"

Deltron Event II isn't the only big project from super producer Dan The Automator this year. Automator has hooked up with singer/songwriter Emily Wells for a new collaborative project called Pillowfight which also features long time Automator collaborator Kid Koala on turntables. According to Wells' website, the group came together when Kid Koala and Wells met at the Calgary Folk Fest. Koala, a friend of Dan's knew he'd been working on a "passion project" and was hoping to find a female lyricist/vocalist.  Emily went to San Francisco to write and record for three days and the rest is history. 

The two spent the next several months writing and recording and have finished their first full length album, which is set to release some time this year. Those that are familiar with Automator's projects such as the first Gorillaz album, Lovage and Handsome Boy Modeling School will feel right at home with Pillowfight. The group recently previewed the upcoming debut album at this year's SXSW festival, which you can probably find decent quality videos on YouTube.

For those of you, who do not wish to go digging through YouTube just to hear the act, fear not! You can hear the group's first single "In The Afternoon" below which is available to download on the Ioda's SXSW 2012 Sampler (FREE on Amazon/$1.99 on iTunes). Can't wait to hear more from this upcoming project, as well as Deltron Event II. Automator can we haz your project with Mike Patton, Crudo, too?

[Listen] DRC Music (Damon Albarn & Friends) - 'Kinshasa One Two' (Full Album Stream)

Back in July, Blur/Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn invited producers T-E-E-D (Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs), Dan The Automator, Jneiro Jarel, Richard Russell, Actress,Marc Antoine, Alwest, Remi Kabaka, Rodaidh McDonald and Kwes along to the Democratic Republic of Congo to record an album in 5 days along with more than 50 local Congolese musicians. Now, on October 5th, the product of wonderful experience by the group known as DRC Music titled Kinshasa One Two will be presented to the masses with all proceeds from the album going towards benefitting the local performers and Oxfam's work in Congo.

You can now take a listen to the full LP before it hits digital and physical shelves next week courtesy of Hypem. Check it out and then pick up to support a good cause.

[Listen] Kasabian - 'Velociraptor!' (Full Album Stream)

The wait is over you eager Kasabian fans. Offered up here is the band's follow up the the excellent 2009 album,  West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum. The title of this glorious follow up is Velociraptor! and up at the top you can stream it in full. The album features some tracks we've already had a taste of including "Days Are Forgotten" (minus LL Cool J), the rip roaring "Switchblade Smile", and the infectious title track "Velociraptor". I know after a week of listening me and Rocko both love "Rewired", but what will be your favourite? Some synth filled tracks along with the albums catchy title track having processed drums. I foresee that track being a future fan favourite at gigs/festivals with it's sing along chorus. The album also definitely shows a little (or rather large) hat tip to the Beatles in more than one area. Not a bad thing though by any means.

The Dan The Automator produced album is available at the top for you to enjoy in full via The Guardian. Today has been a very fruitful Friday indeed.