Thursday, May 21, 2009

One Had A Gift From Beyond; The Other Had Brought The Funk


What's happenin', soul children? I hope that the moon and stars are perfectly aligned in your universes, and all kinds of other ecstatically happy shit...

I'm actually feeling pretty euphoric myself today (and that's with no drugs involved, son), because I've been looking forward to doing this exclusive with Batsauce and Lady Daisey for quite a while now. I first became aware of their brilliant funkitude when cousin Travis emphatically urged me to give The Smile Rays a spin. Very few people understand the complexities of my musical leanings as well as he does, so his recommendations tend to hold considerable weight in comparison to...say...my grandmother.

Anyway, to make a long story pygmy-sized, I instantly dug their soulful sound and decided to feature their "Lonely Room" joint in this post from December '07. Bat was gracious enough to drop me a line thanking me for giving them some shine, and has occasionally blessed me with some of his ill beat selections from that point forward. His wife Daisey is every bit as genuine and down-to-earth, and when she and I started corresponding a few months ago, the idea for a collaboration was conceived (immaculately, of course).

To their credit, I had very little input in this process (except for the post title, which I shamelessly jacked from the name of a Steven López painting)~ I asked the dynamic duo to be unique and make all the important decisions in terms of what the content of the feature would be. As a result, the almighty Bat put together a 60 minute funk workout for you, while Daisey was good enough to share some of her artwork and a track from her upcoming solo project.

Don't worry~ it's nearly time for me to shut the hell up, but not before I elaborate just a little more on why I think these two are so AMAZING and worthy of this spot. Most of you know that I prefer classic records over just about anything that's being currently released. I never hold my tongue when it comes to preaching about the shameless lack of authenticity and lowering of standards that's plaguing today's music industry~ and 99.9% of the time, I politely pass on requests to spotlight artists because I've never wanted SO to be an infomercial peddling mediocrity. *takes deep breath*


Daisey and Bat are amongst the precious few who have the chops to rejuvenate my faith in post-millenial music, as they effortlessly rise above the sea of sound-alikes with their unparalleled ingenuity and uncompromisingly original sound. While they undoubtedly pay homage to music's rich tapestry by incorporating the finest elements of funk, soul, jazz and hip hop's history into their eclectic sound, they blend these ingredients with such original flavor and consummate artistry that the result is a supreme collage of all that was and will be.

Much propers and gratitude to Daisey and Batsauce for sharing their gifts with all of us, and to all the soul kids for once again patiently suffering through my verbosity before gettin' down with the music.

Peace be with you all...Scholar


A Brief History:

Batsauce and Lady Daisey literally met on stage! He was slinging beats at an open mic jam and she jumped up and grabbed the mic. At the end of the night he told her "Let's get up and make a Heavenly Noise!" (which later became the name of their first group) Ironically, when they DID get together, Daisey completely lost her voice for a few weeks - so they spent a little time chillin' and vibin' - 3 years later, they were married. It was around that time they hooked up with Paten Locke (aka Therapy of the ABs) and formed the old skool funky hiphop group - The Smile Rays . Things started moving at a lovely pace with tours, festivals, vinyl/cd releases in Japan, Germany, the U.S. and digitally through Rawkus. With their music now reaching its arms around the globe, it was time to bounce to the other side of the pond and see what's up. The Smile Rays did a '08 European tour opening for Akrobatik and Mr.Lif, rocked a 20,000+ hip hop festival in Czech, and made madd contacts - opening the door for both Batsauce (making beats for Mr.Lif and Surreal) and Lady Daisey (wrapping up her solo album, also produced by Batsauce). Since then, they've been chillin' in Berlin, rocking shows wherever they can, and currently lining up a Fall '09 US tour - coming soon to a city near you!

A Few Words From Lady Daisey:


So, I was told to "put something unique together" to send to Souled On. In addition to our music (Lady Daisey debut solo album coming this summer, yo!) I'm also a graphic designer, computer programmer and illustrator. It works out perfect, we're both in our respective studios until the sun comes up- Batsauce bangin' out those beats and Daisey slingin' pixels, shapes and colors.

And on that note, I'd like to introduce you to my friend, Phonobot.

He's on a galactic quest to find... the Funk! Enjoy!





Plant Some Funky Flowers In Your Soul...

....with an infectiously groovy joint from Daisey's upcoming LP (produced by Batsauce):

"Hometown"---Lady Daisey (LimeLinx)
"Hometown"---Lady Daisey (YSI)

And Now, A Ride In The Funky Batmobile...


A SOULED ON WORLDWIDE DEBUT:


Download the entire mix via Megaupload, or as four individual installments...

Booger Nose Part 1 Preview/Download via LimeLinx

01>
wilford's gone
didn't i fool you
supermarket blues
that beat keeps disturbing my sleep
in the land of milk & honey
all your goodies are gone
bare knuckles
disillusioned man
hercules
then yebthayet


Booger Nose Part 2 Preview/Download via LimeLinx

02>
satisfied
hard times
something right
i'm coming
the smile on your face
ain't no sunshine
if there's a hell below
dookey shoe
ain't there something money can't buy
hook & sling pt.2
bbd
90% of me is you
i'm talkin' bout freedom


Booger Nose Part 3 Preview/Download via LimeLinx

03>
i idolize you
i'll never sail the sea again
mushroom
funky skull pt.1
the way they do my life
deal with it
i'm a ram
funky cat
james brown
the boss
mother misery's favorite child
death wish (main title)
gimme shelter
funky dollar bill
no no yes yes


Booger Nose Part 4 Preview/Download via LimeLinx

04>
soul ecstasy
gator tail
who's gonna take the weight pt.1&2
blowout
things got to get better
super funk
message from man
right on
legs
miss funky fox
loving you


Also, be sure to check out Spy vs. Spy, Bat's latest collection of original beats (recently premiered @ WYDU):


Spy Vs. Spy Download via RapidShare

Missed The "Magical" Video Last Time It Was Posted?



Finally, some tasty links...

Batsauce's website

Lady Daisey's website

Batsauce on MySpace

Lady Daisey on MySpace

The Smile Rays on MySpace

Heavenly Noise on MySpace

Phonobot

Word From Bat & Daisey's Moms:

*"Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler"- Albert Einstein

*"Keep it simple, stupid."- Anonymous

**"Those who dance are laughed at by those who cannot hear the music."- Anonymous

**"When the road you're on becomes too narrow... widen your mind."- Lady Daisey

*Universal truths according to Batsauce
**The philosophical wisdom of Lady Daisey