URBNET Podcast

Words from Moka: Seasons Greetings... This is my sixth edition of the Martian Xmas series. I feel that over the last few years of doing this annual project I have developed a certain continued vibe that is set apart from my other album releases. Martian Xmas was never intended to be a 'standard Xmas' album per se but more so an excursion into the sounds of north American winter during the holiday period... at least that's how I see it and intend it to be. The whole "Martian" thing originated on the first album of the series as the outlook of a displaced alien that arrives on earth during the holidays to learn and understand what the fuss is about and pledges to return annually to add his contributions. I think this concept may have been ignited by a little known Xmas cartoon special that I viewed as a child entitled 'a cosmic Christmas' In which three alien visitors arrive on earth to determine what the 'true meaning' of Christmas was and how they could "measure it". They befriend an outcast boy and his pet goose who shows the three visitors around town and eventually home to his lower income family. The aliens are sworn not to interfere with the human condition but have a change of heart when the opportunity to save a drowning neighborhood troublemaker occurs and thus discover the true meaning of Xmas in forgiveness, community and family.

Anyhow back to the music. I will say this: The Martian Xmas album series has evolved from a literal definition of a visiting Martian into a permant earth dweller who simply feels alienated and uses the music as his main means to even connect with the rest of the world. And that's me! And as I was touching on before, I'm not sampling from well known Xmas songs nor am I doing covers. This is something different altogether... And that's valid... because afterall, who is to really say what constitutes as Xmas music? And I use a secular approach with the words and content. Lyrically with this series I try to paint a patchwork of scenes, some abstract and some literal which entail everything from Xmas shoppers, last minute holiday preparations, family, friends, the weather and of course jazz and speaking of which, listeners who are accustomed to the Moka Only catalog will notice a heavier jazz presence on this years Martian Xmas as I have culled together a few talented and notable individuals whom originate from jazz backgrounds to add their touch to this project. Also I am very excited to help introduce the work of Sean O'Hagan of the incomparable British avant-pop group The High Llamas' to my audience. This group has been instrumental in partially reshaping my scope of music making. I am also pleased to introduce to the world a new talent on the boards, a beatmaker by the name of Jules Chaz of Victoria, BC who comes from a jazz drumming background. I foresee great things for his future. So to conclude my view on the project I would just like to say that I hope I have encapsulated a feeling of the holiday period that people from any background and/or walk of life or denomination can attain something from as this music is directly culminated from my holiday time experiences since childhood. I a very proud to bring you the 2009 edition of Martian Xmas. Special thanks to the forward thinking label Domination Recordings and URBNET Communications for taking a chance with a left-field release as such.

"Martian Xmas 2009" available December 15, 2009

Track Listing:
1. In The Jungle
2. West Coast
3. One Way Ticket
4. Around The World (feat. Slim Twig)
5. Ken Park
6. 1974
7. Boom Baba Boom
8. Believe
9. They Got Guns (feat. Muneshine)
10. The Elephant Dance
11. The Truth Is...
12. One Way Ticket (moss:rmx)

The countdown has begun. Alternative hip-hop recording artist, D-Sisive, has just released 'Four': the first installment in a serious of pre-release singles in anticipation of his November LP, Jonestown. 'Four' features the instrumental 'Alley Spying', hijacked from Slim Twig's critically acclaimed album 'Contempt!'. Watch out for D-Sisive's forthcoming digital only release entitled 'Jonestown', available on November 18th, 2009 - The 31st anniversary of the Jonestown Massacre. http://www.urbnet.com/dsisive

Grand Analog is a raw collective created in 2006. Its members are seasoned record collectors, musicians and self described beat junkies from around the way. You can easily find each of these characters honing the role of DJ at various local pubs and clubs in Toronto or Winnipeg. Band leader and creator, Odario Williams, describes the Grand Analog sound as a beautiful mess of rap’n’roll, dub and soul. “Grand Analog is unbalanced and dirty; never clean. Grand Analog is fuzzy with three coats of dust and reads like an old manual no longer in use”. Calligraffiti, the debut album, has an array of soundscapes you can travel through: ‘Touch Your Toes’ boasts James Brown style drums, rock guitar and a New Orleans style horn break. ‘Around This Town’ can only be described as a ska-pop-hip-hop joint. The new album titled “Metropolis Is Burning” keeps these traditions alive by fine tuning what is now the Grand Analog sound. Singles include ‘Her Daddy (Don’t Like Me)’ - a southern style romp that meets old school hip-hop, ‘I Play My Kazoo’ and the soulful ‘Stir Crazy’ featuring Martin Perna of Antibalas (also sax player on TV On the Radio’s latest disc). Other guests include Canadian rap favourites Shad, Cadence Weapon and Len Bowen. Metropolis Is Burning is available in Canada on May 26, 2009.

Toronto rapper D-Sisive has had a might busy year and, special to CHARTattack, he and DJ Grouch collaborated to put it all together into The Complete '08 Comeback Special.

1. DJ Grouch Intro
2. A Different Dance
3. Story Of An Artist
4. If You Don’t Know By Now
5. Kneecaps
6. Laundry Room
7. It’s Mine (feat. Muneshine)
8. Like This (feat. Guilty Simpson, DJ Grouch & Frankenstein)
9. Wayne Knight
10. Lucky Penny
11. ThisIsWhatItSoundsLikeWhenWhiteboysListenToHipHop
12. Brian Wilson
13. Tiny Girls (feat. Iggy Pop)
14. Mass Production
15. Dum Dum Boys
16. Dear Dad
17. Ambulance (feat. Tom Waits)
18. Lights Out
19. The Flintstones
20. Nightclubbing (feat. Iggy Pop)
21. Up
22. Don’t Be
23. Farewell (feat. Muneshine)
24. The Outro
25. I Shall Fly

The Carps - Porgie & Bess (Big Booty Girls), from Waves and Shambles (EP).

OPOPO - Blast Blast (Live at Supermarket - NXNE 2008). Video footage by youtube user lawlita10.

D-Sisive - Ambulance (featuring Tom Waits), from the 2008 release entitled The Book.

Moka Only - Raise The Bar (Video), from the album Vermilion.

D-Sisive - Like This (feat. Guilty Simpson & DJ Grouch). production by: muneshine, the arkeologists, and justin trugman. www.urbnet.com/d-sisive

Wordburglar - The Route, from the album Burglaritis. www.urbnet.com/wordburglar

DL Incognito - Universal Love, performed live in Victoria, BC. Spring 2008. http://www.urbnet.com/dl

DL Incognito / Western Canada Tour 2008 / Behind The Scenes. Background music, DL Incognito, Grand Scale.

www.urbnet.com/thecarps

Moka Only - Summer Stalker From the 2008 URBNET Digital release Clap Trap

DJ NaNa - Knotroca, from The World Inside My Head Vol. 3, digital only release available July 22, 2008. www.urbnet.com/nana

Moka Only - Do, from the album Vermilion. http://www.urbnet.com/mokaonly

Red Ants - Dirty Space Alchemy set to Ralph Bakshi's 1977 classic WIZARDS. Song from the 2008 digital URBNET release entitled Omega Point. http://www.urbnet.com/redants http://www.myspace.com/redantsmusic

www.urbnet.com/mindbender

DJ NaNa Mixtape (Summer Mix 2008), part 1. Look out for DJ NaNa's next release The World Inside My Head Vol. 3, available as digital release on July 22, 2008.

DL Incognito - Grand Scale, from the album A Captured Moment In Time.

DJ NaNa Mixtape (Spring 2008), part 2. Look out for DJ NaNa's next release The World Inside My Head Vol. 3, available as digital release on July 22, 2008.

The Carps - Heaven's Gates & Hell's Flames, from the 2008 release Waves and Shambles (EP). Video directed by Philip Rae for UOMO Studio.

DJ NaNa Mixtape (Spring 2008). Look out for DJ NaNa next release The World Inside My Head Vol. 3, available as digital release on July 22, 2008.

D-Sisive - The Story of an Artist from the album The Book. iTunes + CD on May 27, 2008

Grand Analog - Around This Town, from the album Calligraffiti. Directed by Marc-Andre Debruyne for The Field.

For his first project in almost 6 years, D-Sisive returns with the internet only release The Idiot: Hijacked. He strays away from conventional hip hop, instead choosing to rhyme over songs taken from Iggy Pop's 1977, David Bowie produced classic, The Idiot. Mixed with clips from the Martin Scorsese cult classic, The King of Comedy, D-Sisive delivers 5 powerful, hijacked duets diving into a genre never been touched by a hip-hop artist.

Red Ants - Versus, from the album "Omega Point" © 2008 URBNET.com/redants

The Carps interview courtesy of London Calling. Produced by PA Productions and Rakehellrow Productions.

OPOPO - CLOCKSTOP (Web Audio Promo), from the upcoming release "OPOPO (EP)" available April 29th, 2008.

The Carps - Veronica Belmont, from the April 2008 release Waves and Shambles (EP).

DL Incognito - Atmosphere (f/ Theology 3), from the April 2008 release "A Captured Moment In Time".

Arabesque - Anna Conda, music video from the digital release Hang Your Heroes. Video directed by David Fradkin.

Wordburglar music video for Cream of Wheat, shot in Halifax in January 2008. Directed by Sara St. Onge. Song from the album Burglaritis on Hand'Solo Records, distributed by URBNET.

Grand Analog performing I'll Walk Alone, live at the Steam Whistle Brewery, Toronto. January 25th, 2008.

Moka Only - Search, from the album entitled Vermilion. Produced by Uomo Studio for URBNET. Features unique lightbombing techniques. Filmed on October 2007 in various outdoor and studio locations in Toronto.

Moka Only - Martian Xmas 2007 Commercial #3, digital only release now available on iTunes, emusic and Amazon MP3.

Moka Only - Martian Xmas 2007 Commercial #2, digital only release now available on iTunes, emusic and Amazon MP3.

Moka Only - Martian Xmas 2007 Commercial #1, digital only release now available on iTunes, emusic and Amazon MP3.

DJ NaNa - Morris (Music Video), from the digital only release entitled "The World Inside My Head Vol. 2" now available from URBNET.

The Carps - All The Damn Kids (Live at The Steam Whistle Brewery) on Friday, November 17, 2007. www.myspace.com/thecarps

DJ NaNa - The World Inside My Head Vol. 2 (Album Sampler with commentary). Digital only album now available on iTunes.

Tru-Paz - Hotel Hell, from the album Concrete Kings. Directed by Marc André Debruyne.

Arabesque - Nature's Phone (Remix), featuring Melanie Durrant & Slakah the Beatchild. Directed by Drew Lightfoot. From the digital only URBNET release entitled "Hang Your Heroes", available December 4, 2007. My Odeo Channel (odeo/715161218c9c2142)

nAnA - Waste No Time (featuring S roc aka Ritchie Hennessy, Khalil (Bahamas) & Eso Teriq), from the album The World Inside My Head Volume 2.

OK Cobra - Child In Rhyme, from the self-titled album released in 2006.

Tru-Paz - Concrete Kings (Mixtape), mixed sampler containing selections from the album "Concrete Kings".

Moka Only - God Bless, from the album Vermilion.

Grand Analog - I'll Walk Alone, live performance at Tequila Lounge in Calgary, July 2007.

The Carps - Compton To Scarboro, video from The Young & Passionate Days Of Carpedia (EP). Directed by Marc Ricciardelli for 235films. www.urbnet.com/thecarps

Tru-Paz - Hotel Hell, from the album Concrete Kings.

Moka Only - Do, from the album Vermilion.

Grand Analog - I'll Walk Alone, music video from the album Calligraffiti.