Chin Chin

Happy New Year!!

defcon — Fri, 2 Jan 2009 01:15:01 -0500

Happy New Year!!

We want to thank all of our artists, writers, readers and fans for an amazing year.

Over at Def Jux we feel incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to do what it is we do. Speaking for this lowly blog editor, I live out my own personal ambitions every day thanks to the musicians, publicists, and most importantly the patrons involved with Definitive Jux Records.

We've come to know you all through your comments on the site, our myspaces, and your emails/letters and we are so grateful on a daily basis that we have such involved and active supporters. A million times thank you for the continued love over the years, we can only hope to keep bringing you the best in 2009 and we're looking forward to Chin Chin and Cage's newest this spring. It couldn't, any of it, happen without you.

And now some words for the new year from Mr. Aesop Rock .....

happy new year everyone. this blog is unnecessarily long.

2008 was really weird. lots of extremes. some of the best and worst memories of my life occurred in 08 and it will forever be remembered as a bit of a roller coaster. lots of touring and travel. lots of strange times and heartache. too much heartache, really. the type of loss i wouldn't wish on my worst enemies.

and still here were are - 2009. somehow still alive.

these past few months have been very busy for me, and are leading into an even busier 2009. I have been working on some new production gigs that will be announced as soon as the powers that be allow me to speak. i think (and hope) that some of this stuff will be a pleasant surprise to any fans of what i do. keyword - 'surprise'. too vague? well....

heres something a little less vague - weathermen album, bitches. songs are being written and recorded now. NOW! if i werent such a gentleman i'd betray all of my friends and leak this new joint sitting on my desktop right now. i'm looking at it right now!!! its so new!!!! so... so...hang on i'm gonna play it while i write the rest of this...ok better. jesus man i love working with these motherfuckers. you know, i try to steer clear of the incessant braggadocio that is sickeningly prevalent in rap today... the 24/7 pissing contest is really not my thing... but its january 1st 2009 so gimme my day - i ask you - who has an iller crew than us!? who?! nobody. there is nobody in any of rap's 9000 subgenres that comes close to what we bring to the table. period. straight up. this will not be some thrown together back-burner bullshit posse album comprised of mail-in 16s and unnecessary collabs. no filler. *end pissing contest (i win).

To read the rest Click Here!!

HAPPY 2009!!!!

(We will be back up and running in full on Monday January 5th...but check back tomorrow for the first wide sweeping generalization of the new year)

Chin Chin Would Like To Offer You Something For Nothing, And We Want You to Keep 25%

defcon — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 20:15:40 -0500

Seasons Greetings Friends and Family!!

Chin Chin, the funkiest of them all, has been working tirelessly in their Brooklyn Headquarters to bring you all kinds of new and interesting material leading up to the release of their second Jux album, The Flashing The Fancing, coming March 2009. The band was so moved by the joylessness of our current economic crisis, that they wanted to give you a whole EP .. for free in the name of none other than some good old holiday spirit.

Click Here to for your own copy of the 'Go There With You EP' and see for yourself.

We here at jux were inspired by the generosity of the Chin Chinners and Aesop Rock (Click Here for your own copy of HIS new track 'Tomorrow Morning'). So we decided to offer you a very special holiday discount of 25% off of whatever you buy from now until the new year.

So Listen up and dont you forget, when you go to check out of the store enter this coupon code

DJXHOLIDAY

Once again in all caps thats

DJXHOLIDAY

Upcoming Shows this Week - Despot Tonight, Yak Ballz Thursday, Chin Chin and Cage on Friday

defcon — Mon, 8 Dec 2008 18:39:48 -0500

Lots of GREAT shows this week!

Tonight catch Despot and friends rock all three levels of the Knitting Factory....

(Check above flyer)

Thursday Check out Yak Ballz in MA, Flyer below ...

Friday will see Chin Chin play with Antipop at the Knitting Factory, Details here (more to come), and Cage in Connecticut.

The Daily Jux for Tuesday December 2nd

defcon — Tue, 2 Dec 2008 18:13:50 -0500

Lots of ground to cover here guys...

First off we announced a Hawaii date that you will want to take vacation time for...ready for this? Aesop Rock, Rob Sonic, El-P, Cage, The Mighty Quinn, Mr. Dibbs, and DJ Big Wiz will be heading out to the islands on January 16th of the new year. Details here.

Chin Chin and Cage both have east coast dates on December 12th, and both are worth checking out!! (Chin Chin Here, Cage Here)

Aesop Rock has gotten some more glowing press for his guest spots on the new DJ Signify album 'Of Cities' - XLR8R has the story. The Mighty Underdogs also got some love on their video for 'I want you Back'- So Much Silence has the story.

Yak Ballz wants to show you some live footage from "Coffee Break For Heroes and Villains" Radio show on WFMU 91.1:

Phew, hope that helped you all work off some of your turkey stupor, more tomorrow.

Till next time,

-The Editor

The Daily Jux for Monday November 24th

defcon — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 18:13:15 -0500

What's that? Slow down girl, what is it? The.. Mighty Underdogs.. Number two on Amazon's ..'Best Hip Hop of 2008'? Good dog Lassie!!

And it's what we've been trying to tell y'all for while now, COP IT!!

In other news, Chin Chin will be playing Southpaw on the 26th with Nuk Fam. Pre Thanksgiving at Southpaw is an age old Brooklyn Tradition... many Wild Turkey's have been chased by Jim Beams and Johnny Walkers...

Point being, its always a good time.

And Mr. Lif would like you to celebrate your end of Monday blues with a listen to one of his classics 'Live From the Plantation' up on his myspace today!!

Today's Daily Jux is dedicated to Great Balls of Fire...

'Nough Said.

-The Editor

Wilder Zoby from Chin Chin Shares...

defcon — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 18:41:07 -0500

For any of you Chin Chin fans out there (or soon to be Chin Chin fans) an important fact to know about Wilder Schwartz - lead singer of said funky outfit - is that he is a very successful collecter of rare vinyl. This is his first blog, read and learn....

Artist: Gloster Williams And The King James Version
Title: Together
Label: Gospel Roots 5005

I think there's no better way to start this off than with an inspirational, wholesome, blessed goodie. "Gloster Williams And The King James Version: Together" is much more than just a gospel music record. It's more of a sophisticated gospel music movement with segues, interludes, and monologues in between the full length songs. It's rare that you find a gospel studio record that is more than just a slab of tunes. As for the music itself? A superb meshing of mid 70's r&b and soul with righteous positive religious themes; "He Loves You", "Together", "Touch My Life", etc.

The music on this record really grooves with a high level of musicianship. The guitarist, Criss Johnson or Michael Powell, is constantly sprinkling tasteful, jazzy riffs and licks. But really it's the bass. The bass is everywhere, flying all over the place, yet never ceasing to groove. There are two bassists, Bernard McGee and E. L. Johnson, credited on the record and they both are of equal note. Nasty. Even when Gloster Williams, composer, arranger, and keyboardist takes over the bass seat on one song with his left hand on an organ, the band continues to fly.The vocal arrangements are also exceptional. Using five female vocalists, Williams arranges these interlocking, rhythmically unconventional vocal harmonies very effectively over instrumental vamps at the end of most of the songs.

It appears this was the first of only three records that Williams made under his own name, all on different record labels and all hard to find. This record is on the label Gospel Roots which was a gospel subsidiary of T. K. Records out of Florida. He can be found as a producer and arranger on a number of records by gospel artists right up to present day. With "Together", Gloster Williams creates very lush, full, warm tracks that make any day better.

The Daily Jux For November 10th

defcon — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:59:09 -0500

Chin Chin at Webster Tonight, Lif gets interviewed, Junk Science in Brooklyn?

TONIGHT at the Studio in Webster Hall Chin Chin plays a show at 9:45!! Details are Here, prepare for the ultimate monday night dance party!

Despot played with Islands this weekend in Prefix has the details, and the pictures to prove they were there first.

Our favorite DC blogger got up with Mr. Lif while he was in town post Obama victory Check it;

I only did one song on it. Willie Evans Jr. did two songs on it, he’s an up and coming producer from Florida - he did two songs, the title track I Heard It Today, and Dawn. Therapy produced Head High, and an interlude called People’s News Network. Edan - he produced Get Life and Heavy Artillery. He has an album out called Beauty and the Beat. J-Zone did Gunfight, etc. One thing that was great was I incorporated producers as good as other guys making all kinds of noise. When peeps hear this record they’ll feel that its on par with my previous works… these guys will get some light, ’cause they deserve it. ...

And Finally Junk Science has announced the first of a few upcoming Brooklyn dates, this one is on November 20th at Southpaw... more on that to come.

The Daily Jux for Wednesday November 5th

defcon — Wed, 5 Nov 2008 17:57:23 -0500

Its a new day! Heres to Hoping!!!!

Mr. Lif is getting all kinds of buzz for his upcoming and very political release. Lif explains about the 'I Heard it Today' Project in an interview with The Village Voice;

I live in Philadelphia, a very blue-collar neighborhood. And on “I Heard It Today,” a lot of my neighbors are the people that were talking about their hardships, stuff that they're going through or enduring, like possible foreclosures. One of my neighbors working in the lending industry lost his job all of a sudden because the industry just kind of collapsed.

Catch Mr. Lif Tonight at The Rock and Roll Hotel in Washington DC, Details Here.

And DJ Day asks about Chin Chin, Why am I just now hearing about these dudes? And if you find yourself asking the same thing be sure to check out the guys next Monday November 10th...More to come on that tomorrow.

And Finally, the Mighty Underdogs tour pushes ahead, tonight its making a stop in Austin Texas in order to help you all celebrate, mourn, or remain apathetic... just nod your head.

The Daily Jux for November 3rd

defcon — Mon, 3 Nov 2008 17:56:01 -0500

Another Monday rolls around, and we here at Def Jux have much to report.

For starters, the photo you see above, care of our friends over at Shabooty.com, is from a DJ Big Wiz interview that is absolutely worth the read....

"What do you think of the “cd” DJs that scratch cds?
I think if it’s somebody that has real skills and is using a cd table that really works like a turntable, it’s cool. The only difference then is that the needle can’t skip but the skills still have to be there. Whether scratching with a cd table or real turntable, the technique is still the same. Same hand/fader movement, etc."

Also, speaking of DJ Big Wiz, the Aesop Rock Daytrotter sessions which includes five exclusives (including a DJ Big Wiz improv) went up today. The exclusives are accompanied but a fantastic biography, also worth a once over while you download...

"Aesop Rock, one of the country’s finest hip-hop men, is an expert puppeteer when it comes presenting these riddles and making them less daunting than it would be in leaping from rocks into a blue sea breeze followed by water or the ledge of a building’s floor, near the tops of electrical wires and neon signs, leveled off by window panes and steel..."

And finally Chin Chin has been getting all kinds of online shine for their free single 'GG and the Boys' off the upcoming album. Impose Magazine writes...

"I have no idea how Chin Chin’s CMJ showcase at Max Fish went down, but I hope some of the women in attendance got pregnant after the show. There was free PBR, and Chin Chin is that type of music.

I have been listening to a lot of Isaac Hayes lately. Guess I’m just in the mood for love, as his dramatic arrangements (birthed from the soul) are unparalleled. I would never suggest that Chin Chin is an extension of such brilliance, but Chin Chin went to the Chef’s culinary school."

Chin Chin At Max Fish!!

defcon — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:59:19 -0400

It is always a pleasure when we here at Def Jux get exposed to YOUR talents every once in while. At last Wednesday's Chin Chin show we had the opportunity to get to see photographer and music writer Damien Neva in action. His photos were so great that we wanted to share them with all of you. (To contact Damien, to see more of his Work)

New York, NY, Oct. 22, 2008 -- Having seen El-P live a handful of times in the last year and a half I was fairly confident that I had come to know most everything not only about the man's stage show, but also his supporting band. Kareem Bunton was of course dominant on bass as was Mr Dibbs on the 1's and 2's, and the Mighty Quin never failed to hype his man or the crowd. Oh, and there's that sometimes floppy haired keyboardist Wilder Zoby Schwartz, who seemed to come alive behind his keys when backing El Producto. When I learned that Schwartz fronted his own funk band called Chin Chin I have to admit I was a touch skeptical, I mean, keyboardist...funk band...Def Jux recording artists?

I came to Chin Chin as an admirer of El-P and as such was open to anything his band members were doing. Having first seen Chin Chin live at McCarren Pool for the Aesop Rock show in late August and then most recently last week at the cozy Max Fish I have come to recognize Wilder Schwartz and his bundle of concentrated energy as a heretofore hidden dimension of the I'll Sleep When You're Dead live band. Tucked and folded in on itself you might never realize the power and dynamism that Schwartz truly possesses if you've only ever seen him supporting El-P. Schwartz gets live on stage at an El-P show, yes, fronting Chin Chin, however is entirely another story.

At Max Fish Wednesday night people packed into this Def Jukie haunt on the Lower East Side. Familiar faces from El-P, Mighty Quin, Yak Ballz, and Hangar 18's Alaska dotted the crowd for a show that did not disappoint. With Schwartz on keys, brother Torbitt on drums, birthday boy Tada Hirano on guitar, David Smith on trombone, Yusuke Yamamoto on hand drums, and Jeremy Wilms on bass Chin Chin kicked out the jams for a little under an hour way at the back of Max Fish. The sound bounced off the tall ceilings and of the otherwise constricted space to create a cauldron of funk. People were even dancing, which for jaded New York audiences is no mean feat. Schwartz certainly encouraged all manner of crowd movement in leading by example from behind the keys. His body swayed from side to side, his arms waved through the air, and his shouts implored the Wednesday night crowd to dance and get live.

Give them a stage or in the case of Max Fish some cramped space at the back of the club and Chin Chin will tear the roof off and have you screaming "Def Jux, motherfucker!" like you did the first time you "Deep Space 9mm." Keep an eye out for a new Chin Chin album in early 2009 and in the mean time their latest new track for free download here.