Hey there!
Swimming through this week with my darling Matthew.
We’ve been leaning on the good stuff lately, spending time with friends, listening to healing music, cooking yummy food, and more often than not, watching professional wrestling.
Some of you have attended a WWE, GWF, or amateur wrestling event with me and are aware of my affinity for the sport. Few things lift the spirits like watching Randy Orton hit RKOs, hearing Jim Ross condemn Triple H, Goldust make an entrance, or the absurdity and kayfabe of modern AEW. The combination of athleticism, pageantry, and theatre all wrapped into one of the most ridiculous spectacles of sport just keeps growing on me, however smooth brain it may seem to some.
If there’s one genre of artists that appreciates wrestling with a similar passion it’s rappers, from the likes of GZA, MF Doom, and Cam’Ron to more recently JPEGMafia, Action Bronson, and likely the foremost wrestling fan in rap, Westside Gunn, whose new album features WWF wrestler Sid Vicious on the cover and track dedicated to Dr. Britt Baker DMD. References abound.
In this spirit of absurdity and crossover, we launch into our b2b downtempo mix that you can tune into up there at the top (or here on NK Funky) with a JPEGMafia cover of Carly Rae Jepsen that features Jim Ross commentating the infamous Hell In a Cell between Undertaker and Mankind.
If you're inclined, give it a rinse, and maybe watch an RKO or two.
As always, here are some fresh recos from the two of us. Hope you find a new favorite.
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Album: Blvck Svm - michelinman (2024)
If you’re a fan of buttery fine-dining-inspired rap music (like me) then you’ll love this one from South Florida rapper Blvck Svm: Blessed the sommelier brought me a pairing.
Set the reduction aside and drop the Iberico jowl in a separate pan w some EVOO
Topped off with features from Boldy James, Terrace Martin, and Curren$y, and filming all the music videos for the singles in Michelin star kitchens.
Album: Midland - Fragments Of Us (2024)
Matt: I’ve been a massive fan of Midland as both a producer and DJ for the last decade-plus, and have seen him command many a dance floor over the years – his closing at my first trip to Berghain/Panorama bar in 2018 an all-timer for me. His debut album explores a different side of his production chops, a departure from the club and festival hits he’s churned out over the years.
‘Fragments of Us’ is an emotional and oftentimes tragic sonic tribute to the gay subcultures of the UK and US. Midland takes vocal samples and audio recordings from various queer icons and revolutionaries of the last 30+ years and layers them into ethereal ambient-electro soundscapes. A heavy but beautiful listening experience.
Album: 22º Halo - Lily of the Valley (2024)
Nick: Gentle, gorgeous, indie-rocker of an album that feels like those early lo-fi Broken Social Scene albums and early 2000s baggy sweater alt-rock. Another gem from one of my fav Substacks for music discovery No Expectations.
EP: DJ Fucci & Jensen Interceptor - El Infierno (2024)
Matt: CDMX rising star DJ Fucci gets together with electro stalwart Jensen Interceptor to inject his signature Latin-infused bass flavor, the result is this frantic 4-track EP of club-ready dancefloor rinsers. Throw this one on if you need a quick shot energy boost.
Album: Westside Gunn - Still Praying (2024)
Nick: Beyond the wrestling references, there’s also an interlude featuring a news anchor talking about Westside Gunn Day, observed on August 28th every year in Buffalo where Gunn uses the day to give back to youth programs in his community.
Tune: Sonido Gallo Negro - Pañuelo De Sada (2024)
Matt: I’m writing my contributions to this Mango from Mexico City where I had the pleasure to have a few glasses of natty wine and shovel a few tacos with the previously mentioned DJ Fucci, who turned me on to psychedelic tropical cumbia band Sonido Gallo Negro. Their latest track perfectly captures their trippy and almost dystopian sound, combining tropical cumbia with elements of various electronic music sounds.
Tune: Ananda Project - Cascades of Colour (2000)
Nick: Watched this excellent little doco about the legendary NYC house music label King Street Sounds that was home to the likes of Joe Claussel, Derrick Carter, Kerri Chandler, Mood II Swing, and Ananda Project to name a few. Naturally it brought a lot of incredible tracks back to the surface, including this all-time sunrise chugger.
Archive: Heights of Abraham - Electric Hush (1995)
Nick: Another blissed-out downtempo classic from the Pork Recordings archive that I come back to often. Something of a supergroup from the downtempo genre, these guys lean a bit further into the ambient, dub, and acid-jazz realms than the Fila Brazilia and Baby Mammoth records I’ve shared here. Perfect soundtrack for city streets at night.
Archive: The Waterboys - Fisherman’s Blues (1988)
Matt: The Waterboys was the evolving musical project of Scottish folk rocker Mike Scott, and his seminal album Fisherman’s Blues is a top-to-bottom banger of a folk-rock record that I’ve only recently been exposed to.
His later work produced a classic dad rock anthem that Nicky and I rinsed heavily during the pandemic by way of Charlie Bones / DoYou Breakfast Show on NTS - 'The Whole of the Moon'.
Archive: Amazing Rhythm Aces - The End Is Not In Sight (1976)
Nick: Been cutting back on social media a good bit but if there’s one person I can guarantee will brighten your day it’s my bud Knarly Gav, a tattoo artist based in South Carolina who amongst being a radiantly positive human takes care of, and sings duets with, his almost 100-year-old mother-in-law Shiela. He put me on to this one and it’s hitting just right this week. Right in the Dad Rock pocket.
🥭 Here’s a Spotify playlist that has a taste of everything mentioned 🥭
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See ya in a couple weeks for NL19!
Nick
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