Brooklyn MC and son of soul musician John Patton, Quamallah (John Jr.) did some real obscure stuff in the mid-late 2000's, with '09's Invisible Man being his most 'prolific' work to date. Quamallah isn't exactly the best lyricist on the planet (not Substantial levels of cringe but they're on the same wavelength), and his egotistical boasting, a standard of most entry-level rappers, is almost entirely unbelievable. He's clearly a soft-spoken nerd, almost Gift of Gab-ish but without being a ball-busting wordsmith. Sans most of his performance, there's some good production jobs on this thing. Very jazz-oriented (if Quamallah clutching brass on the cover didn't give that away), with 'Black Shakespeare', 'Just Listen' and 'California Dreaming' just being a few highlights. The production alone carries Quamallah and turns what would otherwise be a really dull record into something that ain't half bad.

In 1999, famed Irish producer and renowned 'father' of IDM Aphex Twin conducted an interesting experiment in the form of the song 'Nannou', which would occupy the B-side for his acclaimed 'Windowlicker' single. Nannou was about as minimalist as Aphex Twin got, as it was for all intent and purposes an IDM track constructed entirely out of music box samples. No bombastic production, no speedy Amen breaks, just the melodic clicking of what seemed like 10 music boxes cranking out the craziest chimes you've ever done seen.

I think that giveawav, this entire 4-track album, is somewhat similar to 'Nannou', although presented quite differently. For one, it's far more focused on very anxious glitch than any sort of cohesive melody. Secondly, it utilizes a far more minimalist set of tones, which sound more akin to Windows error alerts than anything from convention. They almost resemble the 2009 'album' by Tristan Perich, 1-Bit Music, as these super minuscule sounds dart back in forth in and out of your peripheral. It's a tense car chase through a bite-sized nightmare that fits perfectly in your pocket.

I'd take a gander and say this is Ween's best album. Ironically released on the cusp of a new generation, White Pepper confidently revives 70's pop rock tropes along with a smattering of 60's psych pop under a loose guise of satire (in typical Ween fashion). It's almost like if 10cc were able to produce a great record in the modern age, and seeing as that's feasibly impossible, this'll have to suffice. Oh does it suffice.

I always thought that Godweensatan was their magnum opus since it really captured the true Ween spirit. I'd have to go through their discography again to have a serious stance on it now though.

They're two very different records. Also I haven't heard Quebec so for all I know it could be better.

Not to be confused with the jazz duo of the same name, who didn't emerge until at least 5 years after this album, Kyoto Jazz Massive is an acid jazz compilation released by Tokyo-based label For Life in 1994. It has a few big names on it, most notably DJ Krush and Mondo Grosso, but also contains a few neat nobodies like Hajime Yoshizawa. It's nothing mindblowing but it is does give interesting insight into 90's club jazz in Nippon.

...speaking of Nippon...

Sorry, I had to remove that cover.
Its not me being my usual fascist self, it's because we had complaints from Google and the owners are really touchy about nudity.
It goes without saying that this is some dumb prudish bull****.

I'm glad Google's keeping up with my journal, at least.