Earnest Endeavours LDN | NYC | LA Forthcoming MMXII

WIDOWS

EE003 – Widows EP

EE003 Widows – Widows EP by Earnest Endeavours

Artwork by the mighty Aerosyn-Lex.
Release date: 4th June 2012 (vinyl + digital).
The debut release from the experimental LA / NYC duo.
Record release party & gallery show – London 24th May
Available for pre-order:
iTunes
Kudos Records

“You might not have heard of Widows, but that’s ok. After talking with them for a solid hour in what was supposed to be a 20 minute interview, what I can tell you with an unassailable degree of certainty is that you’re missing out on two of the headiest and unconventional people working in music today.” – Chris Nelson for MagneticMag.com

Earnest Endeavours’s third EP comes from the cult New York and Los Angeles experimental MC and producer duo of Jimmy Jams and Bobby Evans aka Widows. Their self titled “Widows” EP is a wildly creative debut release of drums, raps and electronics that sounds like the future but uncannily like a distant past – utopian, poetic, bass-driven music underpinned by the utter freedom of creative expression.

In a previous life Jimmy Jams and Bobby Evans were known as Brother Reade, the beloved, LA local heroes who even Pitchfork liked (giving their “Rap Music” a 7.4). They bonded with fellow DIY heads No Age and Cali Dewett’s Teenage Teardrops label whilst playing at The Smell and regular house parties across east LA. Kind of awesome for a rap group who were simultaneously supporting Clipse and Wu-Tang at festivals across the US and remixing Telepathe and Neon Neon.

But Brother Reade was laid to rest when the band had decided that the music had outgrown the project. As interim inspiration, they decided to write an album written solely on two drum kits. Untitled, unreleased and therefore unheard to most, this is the heavy chant of Widows – a collection of deft, narrative hard hitting songs almost exclusively rhythmic, where “smart” and “banging” are not mutually exclusive. Tales where impossible things happen that are nevertheless true. These are basic human elements: drums and stories, but Widows work this minimal framework into something bizarrely beautiful. And this is all made even more bizarre by one fact: it is easily mistaken for mere dance music. Or rap music.

MMXII. LDN / LA / NYC

VARIOUS ARTISTS

EE001x – Our Nest Vol. 1 Compilation

<a href="http://earnestendeavours.bandcamp.com/album/our-nest-vol-1">Our Nest Vol.1 by Various Artists</a>

The zip includes 320 MP3s, GIF artwork and a full inlay with profiles on all the artists featured on Our Nest Vol. 1.

Artwork by the mighty Aerosyn-Lex.
Release date: 17th April 2012 (digital).
The label’s first Pay What You Want compilation.

Gilles Peterson had invited us to deliver a mix for his Worldwide International show and the first attempt was a super tight, yet straight down the line mix of bangers that were in constant rotation for that month – a mix of inspiration tracks and untitled MP3 heaters we’d dug deep from the cosmos, mixed by the mighty Alex Patchwork.

But for some reason it just didn’t feel right, so we canned it. We decided to focus inwards on the Earnest Endeavours worldwide fam, all the artists that we wanted to support and had been making plans to collaborate and release their re- cords over the past two years/next two years. With the initial tracklist down, we were hyped that EE reps Tokyo to Detroit, Cardiff to Tartu, Los Angeles to San Francisco, New York and of course London. A diverse collective of artists making mu- sic that is some of the most exciting and inspiring – to us. The mix was a snapshot. “Our Nest Vol. 1” takes it further with new ideas, unheard and unreleased music from the fam. The inspiration – breaking down barriers and messing up heads.

MMXII. WW

DARKHOUSE FAM

EE002 – In & Out EP

EE002: Darkhouse Fam – In & Out EP // Teaser by Earnest Endeavours

*digital exclusive | Sticky Trees (Greeen Linez remix )

Buy from Bandcamp:
<a href="http://earnestendeavours.bandcamp.com/album/in-out-ep">In & Out EP by Darkhouse Family</a>

Artwork by the mighty Aerosyn-Lex.
Distributed by Kudos.
Release date: 27th February 2012 (vinyl + digital).
Available on:
iTunes
Bleep
Boomkat
Rushhour

Earnest Endeavours’s second EP release features the rising stars of the UK’s homegrown, experimental dungeon beats scene and Wales’s most captivating and hard hitting producers: Darkhouse Fam – aka Don Leisure and Metabeats.

Following their breakthrough debut EP “Family Trees” on Fat City (hosted on the landmark “Producers” series alongside compadres and luminaries Dabrye, dBridge, Mosca and Julio Bashmore) Darkhouse Fam’s triumphant “In & Out” EP is an accomplished blaze of guttural, syrupy, synth-addled hip hop with an old school approach re-appropriated into a new school vision.  Certified bangers from start-to-finish engulfed by a hot boxed funk, created by collaborations with the legendary vocalist / producer Om’Mas Keith from notorious hip hop dynasty Sa-Ra Creative Partners (previous credits include Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, Erykah Badu) on ‘Take On The World’, West Coast funkadelic baller, EE and Frite Nite’s B. Bravo (on ‘Like No Other’ and Cardiff’s own Vanity Jay on the sublime soul bump of ‘Sticky Trees’.

Although Darkhouse Fam might be a new name to some, Don Leisure (Aly Jamal) and Metabeats (Che Ahmed) have definitely paid their dues, with over two decades worth of music production experience under their collective belts. Whilst the Barry-based Metabeats was a local garage star, with a Cardiff residency and Ibiza stints DJing with The Dream Team at 16-years-old, Cardiff’s Don Leisure has grown from a Rephlex-inspired electronica producer to drum ‘n’ bass badman, working at Valve alongside Dillinja and Lemon D. The duo met through both gaining and spotting each other’s mutual press in 2008 and started banging out pure danger music together as Darkhouse Fam. They’ve since played Glastonbury, supported Ghostface and made their US debut in San Francisco alongside Mary Anne Hobbs, Gonjasufi and Joy Orbison.

Darkhouse Fam channel that musical heritage into this heavyweight, year-in-the-making EP, crafted through late night sessions at Don’s The Leisure Centre and Meta’s Soul Glo Studios. A cinematic, psychedelic musicality underpins their low rider rhythms that bounce around the smoked-out bomb shelter with almighty bass drops. Check ‘Snaggletooth’ and ‘Red Leather’… evil beasts. Protect your neck, son! DJ support comes from both sides of the Atlantic; Gilles Peterson dropped ‘Take On The World’ three weeks in a row on Radio 1 and Kode 9, Mary Anne Hobbs, Sinden, Kutmah, Gaslamp Killer, Salva, Jonwayne and Daedelus as certified fans.

Darkhouse Fam run with a Welsh collective of fellow forward thinking producers who are blowing up out of Cardiff that includes colleagues C.R.S.T, Monky, Stagga, Mr Healan, Hekla Kosh and Organ Grinder.

“There’s a proper community here. The place is too small for politics, so everyone supports each other, everyone is making really good music and people are embracing it. It’s healthy for us down here, good times.”

MMXII. LDN / CDF

B. BRAVO

EE001 – Kiss ‘n’ Tell EP

EE001: B. Bravo – Kiss ‘n’ Tell EP // Teaser by Earnest Endeavours

Buy from Bandcamp:
<a href="http://earnestendeavours.bandcamp.com/album/kiss-n-tell-ep">Kiss ‘n’ Tell EP by B. Bravo</a>

Artwork by Aerosyn-Lex.
Distributed by Kudos.
Release date: 24th October 2011 (vinyl + digital).
Available on:
iTunes
Bleep
Boomkat
Rushhour

San Francisco’s B. Bravo aka Adam Mori, is cited by the likes of Dam-Funk, as one of the driving forces of the West Coast Modern Funk Movement. B. Bravo is the consummate creative and multi-instrumentalist who has built on his experience as a member of the veteran Bay Area live funk 10-piece The Bayonics, into his inimitable solo productions and full force live shows (look out for the Analogue Starship).

“I wanted to put together a release that represented the different styles I’ve been into recently,” introduces B. Bravo. “‘Kiss ‘n’ Tell’ is a hybrid between RnB and 140bpm bounce stuff featuring Zackey Force Funk from Tucson, Arizona. I wanted a male vocalist with that subtle, sensual style. He smashed it!” With its pimped out, G-Funk synth line, the EP’s lead track is a certified lowrider anthem with Zackey’s signature storytelling vocals hypnotic, and deep in the mix.

“‘Right on Time’ is a classic sounding, 80s funk jam with a modern soul and hip hop twist,” B. Bravo explains. “It features The Gent$, a trio from Chicago. I love their smooth, real classy confident style.” The effortless flow from the Chi-Town rappers rides a melodious thunk and late night, house party vibe. The wayward keys have a life of their own going back and forth with B. Bravo’s trademark, neck-snapping drum fills. Check out the ‘Synth Dub’ b-side version that wigs out even harder on the keys.

‘Substance’ features vocals from Lady Alma, the notorious Philly soul queen who laced 4 Hero’s ‘Hold it Down’ almost a decade back. “I’ve been a fan for years – since her work with Bugz in the Attic, Mark de Clive Lowe and all the broken beat and house classics. She brings that raw, uncut soul,” says B. Bravo. The track is a an ode to the good ole 808, with its house influences and bassy, dubstep girth.

B. Bravo’s more hip hop-inspired, (largely) instrumental offering is ‘Swang’. “This is the fun one with the swinging drum timing and funked out bassline,” he says of the smokey, vocoder-laced, West Coast Cali bump with its drop down cinematic bridge and gangster lean.

MMXI. LDN / SF

JAMS F. KENNEDY

EE00X – A Heart-Breaking Work of Swagger and G Ness

EE00X: Jams F. Kennedy – A Heart-Breaking Work of Swagger and G Ness by Earnest Endeavours

An Earnest Endeavours Mixtape.
DOWNLOAD EPK EE00X
Recorded by Jams F. Kennedy in NYC. Curated and mixed by Patchwork Pirates in LDN & engineered by Bobby Evans on the Doomsday Machine in LA.

On 19th January 2011 we celebrated the launch of our debut physical release, a limited edition mixtape (CD/digital) by Jams F. Kennedy entitled “A Heart-Breaking Work of Swagger & G Ness”. A 29-track opus bringing it back to when mixtapes were revered in their physical form, with the same craft – both musically and artistically – that we wanted to celebrate. We hand-screenprinted the covers at a Tecate and paint session with our good friends at Hit+Run LA (check it out here) with hand-finished inlays. All original verses from Jams featuring beats by Nosaj Thing to devonwho, Bobby Valentino to Ramadanman.

Jams is one half of Widows, with Bobby Evans. Expect their debut EP out in November 2011 on EE (vinyl + digital).

Earnest Endeavours launched with a US West Coast tour in August 2010 with dates in Los Angeles (Low End Theory, Cinespace Tuesdays, OBEY Radio @ The Crosby) featuring Patchwork Pirates & Widows and San Francisco with Patchwork Pirates & B. Bravo (Surefire Sound, Temple SF).

Earnest Endeavours magazine, print series and further collaboration projects coming 2012

MMXI. LDN / NYC / LA

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