Article: Introducing… Daddy Kev (+ Download)

Just as Project Blowed is known for it’s experimental lyricism, the L.A. beatscene is known for it’s experimental take on instrumental hip hop. No boundaries, no rules, that seems to be the approach. So what’s Daddy Kev got to do with it? More than most people think. Daddy Kev isn’t your ordinary producer from L.A.

Daddy Kev isn’t your ordinary producer from L.A., he’s also the man behind Alpha Pup Records and, to top it off, in charge of the Echo Chamber studio. The place to go to for producers like Nosaj Thing, Take and quite a few members of the Brainfeeder collective.

Needless to say, Alpha Pup is an amazing label with a great website capturing all the left field sounds from L.A. and beyond. It’s a place to stay up to date with essential releases and it offers a Top 20 of free downloads from the most innovative producers of the moment.

Before there was Alpha Pup Records, there was Celestial, the label Daddy Kev started way back in 1997. It saw some bangin’ drum & bass and hip hop releases. Most notable OD’s (a.k.a. Omid) ‘Beneath the Surface’, which featured a who’s who of L.A. underground MC’s in the nineties.

As a long time player in the L.A. underground, Daddy Kev has numerous ties to the Project Blowed movement. He worked with Freestyle Fellowship, Subtitle and Busdriver, often with great results and always pushing the envelope.

In 2001 Daddy Kev released the EP ‘Lost Angels‘ on which he collaborated with the likes of Mikah 9 (on the truly unique ‘First Things Last’) and Awol One. Since then he continued to work with Awol One on three more LP’s. Weird shit for sure, but the song ‘Rhythm‘ remains a masterpiece ’til this day.

The last few years Daddy Kev mixed and mastered groundbreaking releases from Baths, Flying Lotus, Tokimonsta, Exile, Teebs and Nocando. Nocando, who won the Scribble Jam battle in 2007, is the most talented of the next generation Blowedians. His album ‘Jimmy The Lock’ is produced bij L.A. beatsmiths like Daedelus, Free The Robots and Thavius Beck. Nocando is also a master of ceremony on the famous Low End Theory nights. Daddy Kev (does this guy ever sleep?) is one of the resident DJ’s together with Nobody, The Gaslamp Killer & D-Styles. Low End Theory is the place where it all comes together.

A place where DJ’s like Shlomo, Jon Hopkins, Mono/Poly and even Thom Yorke are eager to perform. When DJ Sydd of Odd Future was about to do her set, the whole collective performed and ripped the place apart. Just to say, exciting new things are still happening there. For those of us not in the position to visit L.A: on a regular basis there is a monthly podcast with some killer mixes. Definitely worth a listen and that goes for everything else involving Daddy Kev.

Preview: Daddy Kev & Baths – Low End Theory Podcast: Episode 17

Daddy Kev (mix)
00:00 Take « Horizontal Figuration [Tokimonsta Remix] » (Alpha Pup)
01:57 Lazer Sword « Web Swag » (unreleased)
03:42 EPROM « Psycho » (unreleased)
05:04 Blackpocket « Ur A Sta [DBridge Remix Instrumental] » (Fat City)
05:50 JBSL « The Flu [Dorian Concept Remix] » (Affine)
06:28 Onra « The One [Another Waajeed Remix] » (All City)
08:01 Dibiase « Neighborhood Watch » (Alpha Pup)
09:08 Fulgeance « London Falling » (Alpha Pup)
11:15 Robot Koch « Water and Solutions » (Mooncircle)
13:20 Electric Wire Hustle « Longtime [Instrumental] » (BBE)
14:59 Quincy Jones « Seldom Seen Sam » (Atlantic)
15:31 Teebs « Arthur’s Birds » (Brainfeeder)
18:20 Shadow Attack « They Gunna Get Me » (unreleased)
21:51 Oneohtrix Point Never « Nil Admirari » (Editions Mego)
22:38 Robot Koch « Devil Drums [Alex B Remix] » (FoF Music)
24:20 Virtual Boy « Mass » (Alpha Pup)

Baths (mix)
30:24 Baths « You’re My Excuse to Travel [Baths Redux] » (Anticon/unreleased)
32:23 Baths « Damnation » (unreleased)
34:46 Fol Chen « In Ruins [Baths Remix] » (Asthmatic Kitty)
36:10 Baths « Untitled » (unreleased)
37:47 Baths « Plea » (Anticon)
39:44 Baths « Plea / ♥ [Baths Redux] » (Anticon/unreleased)
41:30 Baths « Lovely Bloodflow » (Anticon)
44:02 Baths « Hall [Baths Redux] » (Anticon/unreleased)