The Witzard

GRIND NO DIE by Constituents A couple years ago, we did a feature on Baltimore -based Grindcore band Constituents AKA CNSTS' 2017 DEMO cassette and digital release here at The Witzard . However, over the course of the past year and a half, CNSTS have morphed from a 4-piece to a 3-piece now consisting of vocalist josé , guitarist/bassist clint. and drummer zap . Just yesterday, Constituents "quietly" returned, which is ironic, with their second proper digital release simply entitled GRIND NO DIE . It's a blistering 7-minute mix of Grindcore , Powerviolence, and Metal , which consists of 9 "micro-songs." It also, contains an "INTRO," as well as numerous interlude "skits" created by Baltimore beat-maker and friend of The Witzard , Jumbled AKA John Bachman . East Coast Grindcore die-hards and Hip-Hop heads will well know, however, that this isn't exactly Jumbled & clint. AKA salk. 's first time appearing on record to...

Soul Cannon by Soul Cannon First and foremost, major shout-out to Soul Cannon for sending out FREE Bandcamp download codes to everyone subscribed to their mailing list over the weekend. While their latest self-titled album has been on our radar for a few weeks now, we have to admit, that complimentary download code was really what it took for us to delve head first into the album just this past weekend. Now, with that out of the way, this brand spankin' new Soul Cannon album is phenomenal! Eze Jackson 's Twitter page ( @ezewriter ) describes him as the "Frontman for @soulcannonband . Reporter for The Real News Network . Host of The Whole Bushel ." Eze has been steadily making and releasing music since 2007, if not longer, and his most recent project is a string of 008 weekly Soundcloud singles dubbed #StashHouseSundays . In addition to Eze Jackson , Soul Cannon also, includes Matt Frazão on guitars/electronics, Jon Birkholz on keys/electronics, and drummer...

Lor Shaman by URBN SHMN URBN SHMN (pronounced "Urban Shaman" ) AKA KendalL Ca$h is a Baltimore -based producer/beat-maker originally hailing from DMV —otherwise known as District (DC)/Maryland/Virginia —who was formerly a B-more area DJ. I actually, first heard about URBN SHMN earlier this morning, after long-time The Witzard affiliate and collaborator John "Jumbled" Bachman FWD'ed me an email from The Urban Shaman himself; fittingly titled " Urbn Shmn is taking lofi to Datpiff ," it contained URBN SHMN 's latest mixtape, Lor Shaman . It's been widely referred to as a " summer '18 mixtape" by URBN SHMN himself and contains remixes of chart-topping hits by Childish Gambino , Desiigner, Drake , Future, Gucci Mane , Lil Yachty, Migos , Rihanna, and more. While showcased on a recent episode of Baltimore FLIPS. URBN SHMN readily shared his sources of inspiration and influence, which includes Flying Lotus , Madlib, J Dill...

"No Guns on TV Hill" b/w "Dog" by Blue Streak Blue Streak is a DC/Baltimore -based "super-group," of sorts, consisting of current and former members of local area Punk/Hardcore bands Angel Du$t , Give, Pure Disgust , and Red Death... although, they're playing jangly Power-Pop , rather than your typical Hardcore/Punk fare. Blue Streak consists of guitarist/piano player Ben Schultz (Give,) drummer/percussionist Robin Zeijlon (Red Death, Pure Disgust, Lackluster,) bassist Nick Heitman (formerly Angel Du$t,) and vocalist/guitar player Mike French (Angel Du$t, In Between.) French, Heitman, and Zeijlon previously played together in "Throwback Pop-Punk" outfit Dizzy Pleasure Club (DPC) with Pat McCrory of Turnstile & Angel Du$t , who released a 5-track EP entitled D.C.P. on Photobooth Records back in 2016. As you might have already gathered, Blue Streak is named after 1999 Buddy Cop Comedy film Blue Streak starring Martin Lawre...

" Keepin' grubby hands out my lane—I guess I'm McClane / Rap game's—my Nakotomi Plaza / I tip-toe through broken glass to rescue my oldest passion / bet it all against the house in the hopes it'd let me out," Baltimore emcee NotForgotten ferociously rhymes on "Against All Odds," the first single from his as-yet-untitled debut album. NotForgotten is the emcee alias of Ricky Robertson, Jr. a self-described rapper, comic book artist, and illustrator; Robertson's been writing raps for the past 15 years and has been a self-taught artist for just as long, plus, 10 years prior. As NotForgotten tells "Against All Odds'" origin story to The Witzard , he "reached out to Cryptic One in response to an offer he posted on Twitter announcing that he had beats available." I have to admit, however, I'm still mildly intrigued to hear what NotForgotten & Cryptic One 's Indie Hip-Hop -laden rendition of Phil Collins...

Baltimore emcee UllNevaNo has returned with his first quasi-"release" of 2018, an 8-week project unofficially titled the #SHAMMGODWEDS series produced by Norfolk, VA -based MGNTK. affiliate MANHE . Following last year's Jumbled -produced The Ghost of Len Bias EP on Harford & Reckord Tapes/MGNTK. RSRCH , #SHAMMGODWEDS will be Neva 's first proper "full-length" release of 2018. Not unlike The Ghost of Len Bias EP and Ohbliv -produced "WRK." this weeks' #SHAMMGODWEDS release, "FIGHT KLUB POOL TABLE" keeps right in line with UllNevaNo 's on-going series of basketball-themed rhymes. "On this particular record, Neva pays homage to a culture that made him who he is as [an] artist today and that's battle rap. Even though he hasn't battled since 2010, UllNevaNo still loves the sport and tuning into leagues, such as King of The Dot Ent. (KOTD) and Ultimate Rap League (URL) " UllNevaNo wrote within a r...

Run (Disconnected) by Adam Lempel Singer and multi-instrumentalist Adam Lempel recently moved back to New York , after living abroad in Amsterdam , while attending Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht (HKU) for his Masters in Music Design . Lempel has now, returned to his "old stomping grounds" on The East Coast wherein he previously spent a solid decade in Baltimore 's DIY Indie Rock scene as part of WEEKENDS , Winks , and his own band, Adam Lempel & The Heartbeats . Since 2012, Adam Lempel has released an EP and an album with The Heartbeats , yet another album as "Adam Lempel & The Casiobeats," and a 2016 solo album entitled "STILL LIFE." I talk to Adam from time to time—we actually, met once at a (likely) 2011 Surfer Blood/WEEKENDS show at First Unitarian Church —and I know, he's been working on a proper follow-up to "STILL LIFE" for a couple years now. Said album, now titled Jinx , will likely be released at some po...

Merry Christmess by Jumbled Merry Christmess exudes a frantic sense of fluidity, similar in nature to that of my personal favorite Hip-Hop -minded Christmas comp. Peanut Butter Wolf Presents: BADD SANTA - A Stones Throw Records Xmas . After initially pitching a batch of holiday-themed beats to an East Coast-based crew of emcees to no avail, John "Jumbled" Bachman , unfortunately, aborted his then-untitled Christmas EP for a planned 2016 release. Now, nearly a year later, Jumbled is back with his fully-realized 15-track Merry Christmess comp. Following The Ghost of Len Bias EP with MGNTK. emcee UllNevaNo and THE INSULT with long-time friend and emcee Dwell (as Bully Preston ) Merry Christmess is Jumbled 's third proper release of 2017. While Merry Christmess is, in fact, Jumbled 's first beat-minded Christmas release, John Bachman 's Indie Rock/Power-Pop band, Soft Peaks actually issued a 2013 cover of The Kinks' raucous "Father Christma...

Adam Lempel is a song-writer, composer, and musician currently living in Queens, New York via Amsterdam and Baltimore . Lempel is one half of Baltimore Art-Rock/Noise band WEEKENDS . I can still vividly remember meeting Adam and his bandmate Brendan Sullivan at now-defunct South Philly venue First Unitarian Church sometime between the releases of WEEKENDS (2008) and Strange Cultures (2011.) WEEKENDS were then-signed to Friends Records and were opening for Surfer Blood on their Astro Coast US tour. Somehow, my buddy and I ended up missing WEEKENDS' opening set, but I still managed to sneak back into the venue's "greenroom" AKA church pews for a Monster -sized canned beer with Adam & Brendan before Surfer Blood 's headlining set. Since then, Adam Lempel moved to Amsterdam for a few years to pursue a Masters in Music Design at Hogeschool voor Kunsten Utrecht . WEEKENDS have been on hiatus for a number of years now and Lempel released thre...

Let's Get Saucey Single by Bully Preston "I'm walkin' down the street mindin' my biz, just thinkin' about my wife and my kids and all the stupid sh*t I did when I was a kid. I pass this dude mean-muggin' - huh? The way he's lookin' kinda buggin' me - what? This motherf**ker tryin' to thug with me - what the f**k? Tryin' to invoke The Incredible Bully P . But I don't know, guess I'm beyond that; then again, a year ago, I was beyond Rap . But now, I'm back and it's all thanks to Jumbled Beats for makin' music for the mind. Designer. Sonic treats..." Dwell mercilessly rhymes on "Lovely Day to Bully;" the intro to THE INSULT , an album in collaboration with John Bachman as Bully Preston , quite simply billed as " Jumbled makes the beats / Dwell raps to them." Dwell & Jumbled 's Bully Preston project dates back as far as 2011 with then stand-alone single, "'llatio," ...

The Ghost of Len Bias by ullnevano x jumbled It would be safe to say that the immense musical diversity and sheer success seen published across the pages of The Witzard within the last year or two is largely due in part to one man, John "Jumbled" Bachman ; a self-proclaimed "teacher, husband, beat-maker, and dish-washer," Bachman has been a long-time champion, supporter, featured artist, talent scout, and most recently, idea man behind Beat-maker Bedrock here at The Witzard . Jumbled has either produced beats for, set up shows, introduced, or simply referred me to an ever-evolving crew of head-nodding East Coast -based emcees and beat-makers since we first met, after he sent me his 2016 album, [I wish it was longer] AKA WIWL . John Bachman and his wife recently welcomed a beautiful baby girl into their family and started a new school year at a new school, all the while, simultaneously working on a number of extracurricular projects: The Ghost of Len Bias , Bu...

" NATION is a Paris -based project that combines Pop song-writing with futuristic R&B influences. It showcases a synth-heavy, brooding brand of Future Soul and some of their preferred themes like complicated love, existential doubt, and the way music can repair our souls," read part of an email I recently received from MusigaMy founder Philippe Manivet . NATION is just the latest alias of French song-writer and multi-instrumentalist Guillaume Destot AKA Vim Cortez AKA Vim le Commodore . Destot's latest release and first billed as "NATION" is a 2-track EP titled Baltimore Rising , which I would fittingly describe as a stylistic mix between The Postal Service and Mayer Hawthorne & The County with a hint of "Get Lucky" -era Daft Punk thrown in, for good measure. NATION 's Facebook page (The Sound of NATION) readily lists Guillaume & Co. 's influences as Little Dragon , D'Angelo, Jai Paul , Ben Khan, James Blake , NAO...

" [Lonise Bias'] son, who in his senior season at the University of Maryland , was widely regarded as the best college basketball player in America , a can't-miss talent with absurd hang time. Her son, who had been drafted with the No.2 pick by the NBA Champion Boston Celtics on June 17, 1986. Her son, who would be described in an autopsy report two days later as a "well-developed young Black male," 6-foot-7, 221½ pounds, otherwise fit and healthy and clean, with the exception of the copious amount of cocaine in his system..." ESPN E-Ticket writer Michael Weinreb wrote within a piece fittingly titled 'The Day Innocence Died.' MGNTK. -affiliated Baltimore spitter UllNevaNo and "teacher, husband, beat-maker & dish washer" John Bachman (otherwise known as Jumbled ) have teamed back up for an EP entitled The Ghost of Len Bias . Jumbled & UllNevaNo first worked together on "Hampden Session" from Bachman's entirel...

Quills by Vans_Westly I was attending a wedding reception here in South Jersey at The Little Red Schoolhouse this past weekend with my fiancé, when I received a Tweet from @DrewciferScott tagging me in a previous Tweet from @Vans_Westly , which simply read: "Yo, I really want someone to review Quills ." Westly was of course, referring to his latest Quills EP , which was completed and released just in time for his Quills Release Party this past Saturday, June 24th at Baltimore 's The Windup Space with "special guests" Height Keech, Drew Scott, Raymond Strife , and Lt. Headtrip —nearly all of whom I've previously worked with and covered here at The Witzard . Drew Scott , who produced "Spring Sh*t" on Quills , road tested a few new tunes from his upcoming "weirdo Psych-Pop EP," which soon after The Windup Space show, he said "felt real sexy and pathetic;" in addition to Vans_Westly 's Quills EP , Scott also released ...

Mind Moves The Mountain by Height Keech " Mind Moves The Mountain is the eleventh album from Baltimore 's Height Keech . Reflecting on 17 years of DIY touring, the record asks what happens when your dreams lead you into parts unknown; what's down in the lonesome valley from the Folk songs? What happens when you venture out there and never come back?" Baltimore rapper-producer Dan "Height" Keech cryptically wrote within a recent emailed statement. Mind Moves The Mountain is actually parts 1-3 of a planned and since-abandoned EP trilogy, which started with Height 's Unending Blaze, Vol. 1 EP and an accompanying nation-wide tour, which was released at the top of 2016. "After one EP and one tour, I realized this was all wrong. I sold out of my small run of CD's quickly (which is a good thing), but I sensed that my concept of a EP trilogy hadn't really made a dent in people's minds. I got this feeling that I was going to go in circl...

"Are you havin' a bully day? I'm havin' a bully day! Is everyone havin' a bully day? Bully! Bully! Yes, bully!" Peter Griffin 's great-grandfather Turn of The Century Take On All-Comers Griffin proclaimed during a boxing match with a kangaroo within a 2007 Family Guy episode titled The Tan Aquatic with Steve Zissou . John "Jumbled" Bachman , Baltimore engineering teacher by day and cartoon-loving beatsmith by night recently utilized the aforementioned bit of Family Guy -culled dialogue and expertly turned it into the introductory sample for "Bully Kong" from his newly-minted rapper-producer group, Bully Preston with long-time collaborator Dwell . "Bully Kong" —billed as "[the] new single from the Bully Preston project"—serves as the second release from Bully Preston , preceded by fittingly-titled "Bang The Bongo" from Jumbled 's recent Action Shots EP ; Jumbled & Dwell first worked togethe...

" Action Shots is the new EP from Baltimore beat-maker Jumbled . Living in a Soundcloud world, collaborations between producers and emcees are trickled out as singles—so in an effort to avoid that, Jumbled compiled [six] new songs together in this EP," Baltimore producer, Power Pop drummer, and high school engineering teacher John Bachman (aka Jumbled ) wrote within a recent emailed press release. Maybe most notably, Bachman's Action Shots EP marks the premier of his latest rapper-producer duo, Bully Preston formed with one half of Dwell & salk. from his The Witzard -premiered [I wish it was longer] single, "Train of Thought." "He misspoke when asking about a Billy Preston beat and it stuck (pretty obvious), but I think he's recorded 4-5 songs already and more to come," Jumbled said, as he detailed the origins of Bully Preston 's name; a minor faux pas on Dwell 's part, when once referring to "Fifth Beatle" an...

"I can't really say what the title will be, but it should be released as a single in a week or two, depending on what [Jordan Parrish] decides to do with it. I decided to work on it because it really brought me back to the "Hopeless Romantic 1+2" tracks emotionally and it's always nice to challenge yourself to write something new about a familiar subject," San Diego rapper-producer and engineer Mick Boche revealed within our previously published interview a few months back. Long story short, I actually first heard about "disappearing" emcee Boche (then Izaac) from my friend and collaborator John "Jumbled" Bachman, who featured Izaac within a bonus track, "World's On Fire," on his impeccable Baltimore-centric beat-minded album, [I wish it was longer]. Not long after, Izaac's social media accounts were completely wiped and he went dark, unbeknownst to Bachman and I, having left Baltimore and secretly relocated to San Di...

It's really no secret, at this point in time, that Future Islands frontman Samuel T. Herring moonlights as Socrates & Locke Ernstfrost -referencing greenhorn emcee Hemlock Ernst . "17 years in-the-making, Hemlock Ernst finally got pressed to wax. Thanks to @madlib and @nowagain for making my childhood dreams real," read an impassioned @futureislands Tweet posted on the heels of Sam Herring 's official Madlib -produced debut EP, Trouble Knows Me ; although, he professes he's been rapping since the 9th grade (around 1998), Hemlock Ernst 's first recorded appearance "on wax" was as recently as 2010 on Rapdragons' Baltimore -minded "Gotta Go." He's since rhymed alongside The Alchemist & Oh No (Gangrene) , Scallops Hotel, Curse ov Dialect , Milo, Busdriver , Cavanaugh, Open Mike Eagle , Scoop DeVille, Fat Tony 's Charge It to The Game , and most recently critically-acclaimed artists, BADBADNOTGOOD & Clams Casino ...