the first BSOTS show of 2009 finds us looking back on the year prior and why not? it's the usual tradition and 2008 deserves to be looked at through this lens: it was a great year for music, especially material that was podsafe and blogsafe. normally, i talk about these songs during the show, but time and a sore throat prevented me from getting in-depth on the mic. since that's the case, let's get into it here...

substantial starts us off with a great take on an old jazz standard, but making hip-hop music the focal point instead. from there we visit southern california for an excellent selection from presto (blu is in top form on this one). tru-paz is a hip-hop group based in toronto and i imagine their stage show would be interesting, judging from their lead single. butta verses represents alongside joell ortiz and both come off over this beat - gotta love the b.t. express sample that gets worked on this joint. hip- hop meets jazz on the misled children/odean pope collaboration. some say the misled children is an actual group, others say it's just one guy. i have no idea. all i know is that odean pope's a real person and a damned good saxophonist.

creative commons tracks are well represented on this show. had to get it started with a cut from my favorite netlabel of 2008, budapest's own budabeats imprint. the whole suhov ep is fantastic, an absolute no-brainer of a free download. next up: some dark hip-hop on the experimental tip from soulsonic courtesy of germany-based plain audio. if you're a fan of prefuse 73, you might want to pay close attention to "even if" from apes on tapes, a pair of producers from italy with a fantastic netlabel release on homework records. after that, it's a killer track from moonstarr courtesy of the public transit recordings label in toronto.

one of my favorite podsafe artists from last year is serengeti. his dennehy album was easily one of the most original rap full-lengths released in 2008, so i had to represent for him one more time. astronauts of antiquity is a newcomer to the show, but a stellar group with a wonderful album. "soup de jour" features none other than c-knowledge (aka doodlebug) of digable planets. the recloose joint is another one i've been holding onto for way too long. been digging this cat ever since his first single dropped on carl craig's planet e communications label. since then, recloose has moved from detroit to new zealand and has become quite the saxophone player. "red road" is one of the quieter moments from his perfect timing album.

unfoundsound records remains a favorite netlabel for me. every now and then, they release regional compilations celebrating the sounds of a particular city. philly time! gave props to the city of brotherly love and included a cut from KING FREAKIN' BRITT!!! he appears under his scuba project and it's a gorgeous tune. after that, more sonic beauty in the form of praveen & benoit, then pitching it to the always reliable cy tru to close things out. 15 tracks down, 15 more to go. here's hoping you enjoy part one of the 2008 recap...

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id drops courtesy of india from astronauts of antiquity, darrenkeith wyatt, and ej flavors. theme music produced by cy tru. background music is the instrumental version of "hot on both sides" by techniken defunkus.

other key info:
macedonia's playlist on blip.fm
blocsonic website and twitter feed
foundation media
january 2009 edition of us and us for motion radio

1. substantial - "my favorite things (feat. steph)" {UndergroundHipHop.com | iTunes}
2. presto - "pour another glass (feat. blu)" {iTunes | Rhapsody}
3. tru-paz - "young nation" {iTunes}
4. butta verses - "rock mics (feat. joell ortiz)" {iTunes}
5. the misled children meets odean pope - "four track" {iTunes | Rhapsody}
6. suhov - "funny" {free download}
7. soulsonic - "osr"
8. apes on tapes - "even if" {free download}
9. moonstarr - "break it down" {free download}
10. serengeti - "under the underground"{iTunes | Rhapsody}
11. astronauts of antiquity - "soup de jour"
12. recloose - "red road (feat. justin chapman & genevieve marentette)" {iTunes}
13. king britt presents scuba - "spring" {free download}
14. praveen and benoit - "embers" {Buy at iTunes | Buy at Rhapsody}
15. cy tru - "hybrid pulse"

free ioda promonet download:

Substantial
"My Favorite Things" (mp3)
from "Sacrifice"
(QN5, Inc.)

More On This Album

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