The New Division, Remixers Extraordinaire

Our boys in The New Division have been very busy of late, dropping their first hip-hop remix (of Baltimore's Rapdragons):

In-house producer Vaab's prog house rework of their own "Violent":

As well as their take on 2 Hearts and Chemicals' "Coming Home":

Be sure to keep up with them on Soundcloud for all their latest remix work!

Mob Device Dropping Beats

It's been a while since we heard from Tim Kolstrom aka Mob Device, but this week he decided to bless the interwebs with two brand new tracks. "Astral Projection" is continuing his trek into more of a laid-back dubstyle, while "You Call That" is a banger I'll definitely be playing out in the near future. Listen and download for free! Mob Device - Astral Projection Mob Device - You Call That

B.O.B. - Epic [feat. Playboy Tre & Meek Mill]

As I have been saying forever, B.O.B. is not a cheesy pop rapper, he just got tired of not being famous. Proof is right here. Hopefully he can railroad Playboy Tre into enough money to get security for his house so he doesn't get robbed again.

OnCue - All The Way

My boy CJ Luzi collabs with Manicanparty on the track, Visual High Life again on the visual, and Cuey sticking to his guns with introspective thoughts and a catchy sung chorus.

Countdown to Shadows

The New Division just released "Shallow Play", the second single from upcoming debut LP Shadows, which is already getting attention from Prefixmag. Catch them performing this and other jams at Soda Bar in San Diego tomorrow or at the Shadows release party in Claremont at the Hip Kitty on the 29th [RSVP].

If you're not in SoCal to catch a show (my current situation), console yourself with frontman John's latest solo effort, "The One Thing I Can't Have":

WHYY Connections Festival

Watch the full episode. See more On Canvas.

If you're available Saturday (which I won't be), go check out the free concert local PBS affiliate WHYY is putting on at Penn's Landing. Expect great music from Kyo Daiko, Toy Soldiers, Birdie Busch, Kuf Knotz, The Baseball Project, Justin Townes Earle, and local legends Dr. Dog.

Grab a free download from blues outfit Toy Soldiers [here] and be there at 2 PM Saturday for the show!

Joy Ike - Sweeter

Check out Joy Ike's new video for "Sweeter" and download the mp3 for free [here]!

Free Boosie

Some of those screaming free Boosie aren't exactly helping his case, though in situations like this one, perhaps their feelings are understandable:

His mother sets things straight in an interview [here].

Low - Especially Me

Minnesota indie darlings Low still deliver their trademark relaxing sound 18 years later, this time with a video treatment that reminds me of listening to I'm From Barcelona on the subway in Philly, which may be the highest compliment I've ever paid a music video. Download "Especially Me" [here] and get familiar with their extensive back catalog if you haven't already stopped reading this to do so. (via Buzzgrinder)

The New Division - Opium

The New Division just released "Opium", from the forthcoming Shadows LP, out September 27th. Give it a listen and then buy it [here].

Watch the Throne Drops in August

Kanye and Jay-Z's long-awaited collaboration Watch the Throne is scheduled to drop August 8th. Despite early worries of trend-chasing with disappointments like the Lex Luger showcase "H.A.M.", the latest leak "Otis" shows Kanye back at the peak of his production game, flawlessly sampling Otis Redding and going toe-to-toe with the greatest retired rapper alive thereon. Production on other tracks will come from 88 Keys, Q-Tip, The Neptunes, RZA, Hit-Boy, Swizz Beatz, Southside, No I.D., Mike Dean, Sak Pase, and S1, with guest spots limited to Beyonce, Mr. Hudson, and Odd Future crooner Frank Ocean.

Stream "Otis" at Jay-Z's Life + Times [here].

Chanes - The Bird Cage

For those who can't get enough of Wiz Khalifa's rhymes over Lex Luger's beats, this just might be the next best thing: frequent OnCue collaborator Chanes flips Arcade Fire's "My Body Is A Cage" into a churning organ loop for Wiz to spit "Youngin On His Grind". Taken from Chanes "The Subherbs" Arcade Fire vs. Wiz mashup project, which you can download [here]. (via OnCue)

New OnCue/CJ Luzi

My boy CJ Luzi has been back in the lab with OnCue, and the first result we get to hear is "Feel Tall", a pop gem on which Cuey brings his singing chops back out to play: And in case you missed it, here's the official video for their Eisley-sampling jam "It Usually Goes":

Catching Up with House Exit

My former roommate Matt Hannigan and his band House Exit finally got in a real studio and did some proper recording. I'm a bit behind on posting this (we premiered it on The Fox and the Hound back when it came out), but the resulting single "Focus on You" is available on iTunes and CDBaby. The upgrade in quality does a lot for House Exit's sound, demonstrating growth beyond the lo-fi faux-Blink-182 that has served as a muse for Hannigan's graphic design work for the past few years. Hopefully these improvements will continue and we'll have much more to look forward to from House Exit!

Kolstrom = Mob Device

Tim Kolstrom is going the way of all electronic musicians and diversifying his sound, working on house music under the name "Mob Device", though it seems likely the new AKA will take over his music more generally. Maybe his real name just isn't awesome enough to describe his music. Speaking of which, his latest track "Muscovite" does the trick nicely:

Vote for The New Division

The New Division has an opportunity to play live on Jimmy Kimmel if they hit 5,000 'likes' on Facebook by the end of the month. [Click here to like their page] and then download the free mp3 of their latest single "Walk in the Dark" at their Bandcamp page.

OnCue - It Usually Goes

Little bit of a spelling issue on the word "hymen", but a dope track from my man CJ Luzi sampling Eisley's "Ambulance". New OnCue! Bit late cause I gotta catch up on this jawn... Cuey's "Can't Wait" coming soon! [free download]

DJ News: KNO Clothing Launch Party

My friend Liz DeJesus, aka DJ DeJesus, was tapped to provide the music for the launch of KNO Clothing. KNO is the brainchild of two Messiah graduates who want to help the homeless. Basically, you buy a t-shirt or hoodie and 50% of the cost is either donated to homeless shelters or used to provide direct aid, like warm clothing, to local homeless people. They wanted some hipster music Liz didn't have, so she asked Jared (The Hound) and I to come along. Between presentations by the founders and a formerly homeless man, we pumped out jams by Phoenix, Passion Pit, Chiddy Bang, and LCD Soundsystem while the guests socialized, ate delicious food courtesy of venue Passage to India Restaurant, and watched as the KNO line was modeled by various friends of the company. We threw together this special "Foxy Jesus" edit of Matt & Kim's "Daylight" and the Ninjasonik rap version for the occasion that got a pretty good crowd response.

Matt & Kim - Daylight [Foxy Jesus Rap Mix][feat. Ninjasonik] by thefoxandthehound

The New Division

My girlfriend's best friend's boyfriend (wow that's a mouthful) is in an excellent band out in California called The New Division. I was able to hang out with them a little bit while I was out there visiting her, and they are putting out some genuinely quality stuff, heavily influenced by New Order and Joy Division. They are doing so well, in fact, that high and mighty Pitchfork has graced their latest single, "Starfield", with their stamp of approval - giving you a free download in the process, just a few days after my own Fox and the Hound Show did so with some East Coast airplay.

Starfield by The New Division

Become a fan on Facebook for more info and definitely see them live if you're out West, I'm told it's quite the experience.

First Leak off of OnCue Tape

The first track off of Cuey Sings the Blues samples Dave Matthews Crash Into Me for an introspective take on fame and the pursuit thereof. As mentioned previously, the upcoming tape will feature sample-based production drawing on indie, rock, and electro rather than more traditional hip-hop material. Check out the preview of the video below and download the track free at http://www.mynamecuey.com :