blocsonic (Curator)

Back in the early 2000s, I began discovering the incredibly diverse world of netlabels/netaudio. At first, my exploration was hindered due to my lack of commitment to the need of listening to such a large array of music only to discover a very few gems that appealed to my tastes. By 2006 I had come to realize that there wasn’t any easy button to discovering music I love. I also decided that I’d take it upon myself to create that easy button for others to discover the vibrant music scene more easily than I was able to. That easy button became blocSonic.com and was launched in January of 2007.

For the first two years, I concentrated on the series of releases for which blocSonic was created, the netBloc series. A series of releases that collects 10-12 personal netaudio favorites into a fully realized compilation album that comes with complete album art, a PDF booklet with extensive liner-notes and is available in multiple audio formats, including lossless FLAC. In those first two years, 26 volumes were released that shined the spotlight on a widely eclectic range of netaudio from all over the world. The netBloc series quickly generated interest among music listeners, netaudio artists and netlabels alike.

Then in 2009 came the natural next step… releasing blocSonic original albums alongside the netBloc series. That year saw the release of the first four blocSonic originals… Just Plain Ant’s “Dig Deep”, Formula’s “The Catastrophic Connection”, Luck & Ripps’ “The Catastrophic Connection” and CM aka Creative’s “Classic Material Vol. 3: UI Radio”.

Along with new netBloc and original releases, 2010 came with it’s own additions to the blocSonic release line-up… maxi-singles and EPs known as maxBlocs and blocSonic’s own brand of deluxe edition re-releases called Xtended Editions.

2011 was a year of refining the blocSonic release schedule and planning for more growth this year.

In January blocSonic celebrated its fifth year with what became known as MUTE month — four releases by the cross-atlantic team of Tha Silent Partner and UNknown (Formula) known as MUTE.

Since launching, blocSonic’s audience has only grown and continues to do so now even as I plan future additions to the release line-up, a new site design and other exciting changes. The future is bright for netaudio and for blocSonic. I can’t wait to let you in on what I’ve got cooking!

For now, get to know blocSonic or simply catch up… with this selection of 50 highlights from the 2007-2012 archives.

Peace
Mike Gregoire
Founder/Curator blocSonic.com

Before Garmisch came to blocSonic, they released two great EPs with the now defunct netlabel Go, Jukebox!. Those EPs never saw a lossless release and deserve such a treatment, so we’re re-releasing them as part of what’s currently entitled “The Garmisch EP XE”. An Xtended Edition release featuring both EPs, a few extra EP-related goodies and a special remixed version of the self-titled album.

Learn more about the remix event here

It's  hard to believe that it's already been 2 years since WFMU's Free Music Archive went live. After 2 years, the world of Creative Commons has already undergone a significant amount of growth and the FMA has made itself right at home within it. Thank you to WFMU for helping to expose a wider audience to CC licensed music! I look forward to seeing what more you have to offer in the coming years!

I was asked to put together a top 10 mix and I tried... I really did, but it was impossible given the amount of incredible music that's hosted here. The flow of music here at the FMA is such that it makes it impossible to keep up with everything that's been added, but I do my best. As I tried to whittle the list down to 10 tracks, I realized it was a lost cause and decided to make it 20 tracks. 20 incredible tracks! Plus one incredible track from the first single of blocSonic's most recent release by Liam Stewart, "Sixteen Words", which will be available here at FMA this week. 

I sincerely hope you enjoy this selection. I also hope that you continue to support WFMU and Creative Commons licensed music. 

Peace
Mike Gregoire
Founder/Curator blocSonic.com

Just Plain Ant is back with another fresh collection of his unique brand of hip-hop — beats, jazzy samples and a host of guests who each add their own flavor to the mix. Among the guests we’ve got blocSonic regulars such as Joey Ripps, Ohbliv and Sleaze. We’ve also got some new names — Black Liquid, Braintrust, Mic Jordan, Gordy Michael, NOTE, Octavion Xcellence, Photosynthesizers and last but not least… the INCREDIBLE… Chuck D! That’s right… the legendary Public Enemy front man took time out of his busy schedule to drop a verse!

As you’ll read in Ant’s PDF liner-notes, this album was a long time in the making and has undergone a few changes along the way… but in my opinion, it was worth it… Ant turned out another fantastic release! I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I do.

Thanks in advance for checking it out! Remember… keep the music moving… share it… blog it… podcast it!

Grab “Rumble, Young Man, Rumble” here.

CM aka Creative “I Got You”

The final maxi-single promoting CM’s “The Classic Material Completion Package XE” (which you should def check out if you haven’t already done so), we’ve got a couple more exclusive previously unreleased tracks for you to enjoy. Grab CM’s “I Got You” here!

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Just Plain Ant “This Is Madness (Just Plain Black)”

On July 27th blocSonic & Just Plain Sounds are dropping the next Just Plain Ant album, “Rumble, Young Man, Rumble”. With RYMR, the the world of netlabels collides with that of classic hip-hop. Among the album’s many talented collaborators is one notable guest that’s sure to grab a bit of attention. That special guest is none other than The Rhyme Animal aka The Hard Rhymer aka Mistachuck… that’s right… Public Enemy’s Chuck D!

Though, you’ll have to wait until the 27th to hear that distinct voice rhyming on Just Plain Ant production. For right now we’ve got the first maxi-single for you containing two fantastic album tracks featuring Black Liquid out of Richmond, Virginia and NOTE out of Cleveland, Ohio.

Grab Just Plain Ant’s “This Is Madness (Just Plain Black)” here!

In both releases we’ve included instrumentals and acapellas for your remixing pleasure. We encourage you to submit your remixes (in wav format) to our SoundCloud DropBox (We do ask that you use the lossless FLAC format for the best possible quality remixes). In the case of the Just Plain Ant single, your remix has a chance of being included on the next RYMR single!

As always… thanks for downloading and listening! Keep the music moving… share it… blog it… podcast it… broadcast it!

Peace
Mike Gregoire
Founder/Curator blocSonic.com

Here we are with the second in our Xtended Edition series. XE releases are meant to give albums, that were originally released on defunct labels or independently, a second chance at getting much deserved shine. Each XE release is packed with the original album, features fresh art and contains at least a bonus disc of exclusive goodies — remixes, outtakes, new tracks & demos. This XE is one very deep set! Coming in at 68 tracks… 3 hours, 9 minutes and 47 seconds in length, there’s little doubt that it’s got something to offer all you groove and beat fiends. Some of you may recognize Tha Silent Partner (TSP) from his work found at Jamendo. Some of you may only know him from his appearances on the netBloc series and the recent maxBloc single “P Pulsar”. Either way, you’re about to get to know his work in a big way, both through his music and through this release’s extensive liner-notes.

27 year old producer/remixer Gregory “Tha Silent Partner” Davis currently calls Boston home, though his roots lie in the UK. He made his first blocSonic appearance back in 2007 on “netBloc Vol. 11: The Raw And The Cooked” with the spaghetti-western flavored “No Mas”. He then re-appeared, along with Unknown aka Formula as MUTE, on “netBloc Vol. 15: this album won’t eat your gas money” with the powerful and soulful “Is It Too Late For Us All?”. Now he’s back with “Tha Complete Platters Sessions XE”.

To understand what the Platters Sessions are all about, here’s a bit of background. Back in 2007, TSP began releasing a series of “Platters” releases via Jamendo and under his label Me, Life & Music. The Platters series were an exploration of vinyl samples based on particular themes. The first installment, “Platters Act. 1 (Lounge Music And Exotica)” featured lush orchestration and smooth rhythms. Then in 2008, the second installment, “Platters Act. 2 (The Untouchables)”, went sort of unreleased (more about that can be found in TSP’s liner-notes). It featured an episode of the TV show “The Untouchables” infused into a sonic world of funky hip-hop beats and jazzy melodies. Finally, in 2009, TSP dropped the third and final act of the series… “Platters Act. 3 (Tape Deck)”, a sort of beat tape, but with a completely unique TSP vibe.

For the first time, “Tha Complete Platters Sessions XE” collects all 3 acts together along with a bonus disc of outtakes from the period, making for an incredible 3CD set of sonic treats! Add to that the maxBloc exclusives on the “P Pulsar” single along with the “Starksy (Featuring Seti A.K.A. K9)” single that’s set to follow this release along with it’s exclusives and you’ve got a whole hell of a lot of new listening!

So what’s contained on this release, you ask? Disc One features the first two acts — “Platters Act 1 (Lounge Music And Exotica)” with it’s dusty, chilled vibe & “Platters Act 2 (The Untouchables)” with it’s exploration of the fusion of story-telling and music. Disc Two contains “Platters Act 3 (TAPE DECK)”… which is a sort of beat tape infused with a sound that’s unique to TSP. Finally, Disc Three contains “Tha Director’s Cut” — 18 bonus previously unreleased tracks that came out of the Platters sessions or were produced for other projects during the same period. This is where you get to hear tracks that feature the vocal skills of lyricists such as Life MC of Phi Life Cypher, Mayhem, Revalation, Seti & HT. On the whole, this is a fantastic collection of adventerous & eclectic music!

I’d also like to mention that there’s one other “first” that this release represents. It’s also the first long form blocSonic release to contain material culled from Gregory’s Me Life & Music label archives. Around the same time that I began thinking about the XE idea and how to best approach it, Gregory made an offer I couldn’t refuse. He offered up complete control of the ML&M archives in order that blocSonic may give that music an online home that could do it justice. I immediately saw the opportunity to work some of the archives into this XE series and here you have one example of what we plan on doing. In the future we plan on releasing other XEs, maxBlocs and Originals that contain material culled from the ML&M archives. A very special thanks to Gregory for the opportunity and the trust that he’s placed in blocSonic! I hope you feel that blocSonic’s done the Platters series justice.

So there you have it… more sonic treats for you to absorb. Thanks again for taking the time to visit blocSonic and giving our releases a download & listen. Enjoy it. Share it. Blog it. Podcast it. Tweet it.

Remember… next Tuesday (April 6^th, 2010) is the release of the second maxBloc single for this set, “Starksy (Featuring Seti A.K.A. K9)”. It’s going to be packed with yet more exclusive material not found on this collection. Come right back here to blocSonic to grab it!

Grab “Tha Complete Platters Sessions XE” here at FMA.

Want high-resolution album art, liner-notes or lossless FLAC audio? Check out the blocSonic release page!

As of the time of this writing, not even a year after it’s launch, WFMU’s Free Music Archive already boasts nearly 18,000 free music tracks from a wide array of genres. It’s an interesting collection in that it not only features music that comes from the world of netaudio/netlabels, but many signed indie artists can be found among the FMA’s selection as well. It’s definitely an incredible archive of music to explore!

After a good three months of listening to thousands of FMA tracks, I somehow managed to whittle the selection down to 11 exceptional gems. It was really a difficult choice, but in the end the final line-up proves to be a terrific mix of Rock, Pop, Punk, Indie, Trip-Hop and even a splash of humor thrown in for good measure.

A special thanks to Jason Sigal over at WFMU and FMA who was most helpful in getting me access to lossless copies of the two Live At WFMU tracks which are featured here. Thanks also to the labels, artists and to CASH Music for participating and helping me pull together all that was needed to make this release happen.

Since this netBloc release features music that’s already available here at the FMA, I’ve put together this mix for you to enjoy here. If you’d like the complete release, see the link below.

Want the PDF album booklet, high-resolution album art or any of the high-quality audio formats (MP3, OGG, FLAC)? Check out the blocSonic release page!

We set things off in 2007 with our premiere release, “netBloc Vol. 1: The Opening Salvo”. Even at that early stage, I knew that I wanted blocSonic to be a bit more than your standard “netlabel”. I didn’t want blocSonic to be completely self-serving… it was to be a promotional vehicle for netlabels, artists and the netaudio culture. However, what I didn’t know was if artists and netlabels were going to be supportive of the compilation idea and send me lossless versions of their music to be included. Happily my worries were for naught. Everyone involved has been extremely supportive over the years and my positive experience with the netBloc series got me thinking about original releases. Our first original release was back in February 2009, Just Plain Ant’s “Dig Deep”. Well here we are nearly a year later and I’ve got another premiere release for you to enjoy and it’s the talented Just Plain Ant bringing it once again!

This fantastic release has been in the works since ETHX first contacted blocSonic back in May. In it you’ll find a few high-profile peeps he’s managed to connect with – folks like Boots Riley who you may know from The Coup, Zumbi from Zion-I and Myron Glasper who’s sung background vocals for everyone from MC Lyte to Blackalicious to Lyrics Born. Among the names you may know, you’ll also find incredibly talented MCs and vocalists who you may not know. One of those talented MCs is Nate Mezmer who's presence plays an integral part in making this collection feel like more than just a producer's showcase. Once again, blocSonic brings you real hip-hop with a touch of R&B… this fresh sound comes to you straight out of Northern California.

I want to say thanks to ETHX for approaching blocSonic in the first place and his guests for being part of what’s become “Boom To Bloom”. Welcome to the blocSonic fam!

We hope you enjoy this release and it gets heavy rotation in all your portable devices, CD players and computers. If you dig it, don’t forget to spread the word… share it with anyone and everyone you can.

One more thing… be sure to check out Netwaves Wednesday, Jan. 27^th for the latest episode which features blocSonic/netBloc music and an interview with me. The live broadcast is 22:00-01:00 GMT+1 / 4:00-7:00PM EST / 1:00-4:00PM PST and it can be heard via this link. After the live broadcast you can subscribe to the Netwaves podcast or you can download it directly from the Netwaves website. Thanks to netwaves for thinking blocSonic interesting enough to feature!

Check out ETHX “Boom To Bloom” here.

I want to first send out a heartfelt Happy New Year to you all! May 2010 be a year in which we all set the wheels in motion for a positive and happy decade.

For blocSonic, our first year featuring original releases was a good one and it was the year that we began planning the good things to come in 2010. Let it be known that we have a few surprises in store for you! In the meantime here’s netBloc Vol. 26 for you. It’s our final 2009 release and a terrific addition to the series. It features a CC-licensed gem from a fantastic score by Dave Merson Hess for the film “PRESENCE” as well fantastic pop, rock, hip-hop, electro and downtempo. In addition to the netaudio gems culled from around the world we’ve got not one, but two previews of upcoming blocSonic goodies… one from the new blocSonic artist ETHX and one from our good friend Just Plain Ant. Be sure to check the PDF booklet for more details. As always, thank you for making blocSonic a regular stop on your online musical journey, I hope you continue to do so. Don’t forget to share our releases with everyone you can. Thanks again to all participants… we REALLY couldn’t do this without you!

Here are a couple selections for you to enjoy, from blocSonic’s latest release “netBloc Vol. 26: N.E.T.A.U.D.I.O.”.