lo fi Backing Tracks

El-P, aka El Producto, is one of hip-hop's most obstinate and adventurous pioneers, combining a lo-fi old-school aesthetic with a progressive rock musician's inclination to push boundaries. He has never succumbed to the demands of corporate rap, instead choosing to pursue his own decidedly non-commercial direction. In the mid-'90s, he developed a strong reputation with the groundbreaking trio Company Flow, a band whose achievements include El-P-produced LP Funcrusher Plus on Rawkus Records, a label considered by many one of the best for intelligent hip-hop. Over the group's auspicious stint together, he proved he was himself capable of intense lyricism as well as sonic production so powerful it could stand on its own.

A strange, lo-fi item. The first three gigs performed by the band captured on handheld. Sound was via a single, stereo condenser. Funnily enough, it struck a chord with many fans as it certainly places you in the middle of the crowd…

Eden is the debut studio album by British musical duo Everything but the Girl. It was released on 4 June 1984 by Blanco y Negro Records. The album contains the single "Each and Every One", which peaked at number 28 on the UK Singles Chart. The cover design was by lead singer Tracey Thorn's former colleague in the Marine Girls, Jane Fox. By 2012, Eden had sold around 500,000 copies. Eden was reissued in 2012 as a remastered edition by Edsel Records.

Sonic's Rendezvous Band - Sweet Nothing (CD 1998)
WV-IMG+CUE+LOG or MP3 CBR 320 | Complete Scanwork | 406 or 128 MB
Scorching live recording from the Second Chance, Ann Arbor, on April 4, 1978, +

Sonic's Rendezvous Band - City Slang (CD 1999)
WV-IMG+CUE+LOG or MP3 CBR 320 | Complete Scanwork | 525 or 170 MB
Live recording from various venues in 1978-79 that captures the band in full flight

In the Midwest during the 1970s, you would be hard-pressed to find a rock group with a more impressive pedigree than Sonic's Rendezvous Band, which brought together members of four key bands from the fabled Detroit/Ann Arbor rock scene of the late '60s – Fred "Sonic" Smith of the MC5, Scott Morgan of the Rationals, Gary Rasmussen of the Up, and Scott Asheton of the Stooges. Among fans of high-energy Michigan rock, Sonic's Rendezvous Band would – with the passage of time – become nearly as legendary as their forebears, but it would be years before listeners outside of the Midwest had much of a chance to hear their music; fate seemed to conspire against them while they were together, and one of the most talented and powerful acts of its day ended up releasing only a one-song single during its six-year lifespan.