The rock and ska celebration continues with this German band called Boxing Fox. The album titled The Shepherd Hates Us is a rousing chorus of sharp brass riffs, skanking guitars and frantic vocals. Despite some nice metal and punk touches, This is fairly old school ska in the style of Madness and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. “The Last I Know” is a case in point, The guitar and vocals may hint of Rancid but that opening brass riffs and beat would have made The Skatalites proud. The seven tracks are all party music of the rude and celebratory kind. Highly recommended.

The album is creative commons licensed and available from the band’s web site in 192kbps MP3.

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Dub One! has a unique global sense of musical madness. The five tracks on Dubplates From The Madhouse orignates from Berlin but teems with the sound of Jamaica. Hip-Hop, Techno and Reggae are shaken not stirred into a mesmerizing soundscape. “Jack Pot” and “Odd Man’s Planet Dub” turn out mellow and urban funky at the same time. However my favorite track is the raga/reggae “Sitar Sensi”, a hip-hop global contender if I ever heard one. Dub albums are usually not something I listen to regularly but this one may stay in the Ipod for quite a while.

The album is available from the iDeology net label in 192kbps MP3.

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By their own description, Fosforo plays “punky reggae jungle music”. Bits of reggae, dub, Latin, punk and electronica all blend together in their free online album titled “Macondo”. What is impressive is that all these elements sound unforced and authentic when you hear the final result. Even more amazing for me is the fact that the group members went to Van Nuys High School, a school that is more known for having alumni like Marilyn Monroe, Robert Redford and Paula Abdul rather than guys who play multi-cultural socio-political music. Time have changed since I used to cruise Van Nuys Boulevard on a Wednesday night. But I digress…

Macondo is six tracks and over 30 minutes of addictive foot-moving music. Fosforo has a great range of moods. They can play reggae that sounds off the streets of Kingston, deliver an sweet Afro-pop “Desconocido” that would make King Sunny Ade smile then go straight into a heart pounding global rocker like “Guerra”. This is a fine band that should do well as long as they keep to their global vision.

The EP is available from Fosboro’s web site in 128kbps MP3. If you enjoy the music support the artists by buying their CDs.

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I’m not sure if the world is ready for Italian ska-punk-rock. Talco manages to deliver just that and it’s rude, confrontational and immensely enjoyable. Armed with a pulsing rhythm section, blaring rock quitars, a party-on accordian and a dynamite horn section, Talco should knock you out of your chair and on to the dance floor. The singer is no slouch either as he negotiates a vocal style somewhere between party time and road rage. The free online album Combat Circus merrily skanks through a dozen tracks with the highlights being “Tortuga”, the title tune, “Bella Caiao” and the pretty “Diari Perduti”, a waltz with an atypical female vocal. This is a great party album for the unconventional party.

Tutti Assolti is the band’s newest release, also free and legal from Jamendo. Talco goes from 10 to 11 on the intensity level with this album. They sound tighter and ruder on this sophomore effort. the opening track “L’Odore delle Morte” holds nothing back and it pretty much typifies the rest of the album. I’ve been told that Talco has very politically minded lyrics. Unfortunately I do not understand Italian but the emotional intensity Talco deals in defies all political and cultural boundaries.

Both albums are available in VBR MP3.

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Combat Circus
Tutti Assolti

The Sundayers from Madrid, Spain play reggae and ska with a decidedly Latin touch. This is good-time music best played on the beach or, at the very least, next to the pool with a sufficient supply of Red Stripe. “Eterno Domingo” is a nice track to get your feet moving while “Latin Jeta” is a sexy Spanish-Caribbean number that is custom made to suit your lazy Sunday. This six-track, 25 minute EP is a winner.

The album can be found on their Myspace page or be downloaded from Jamendo through the link below.

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Two albums of chilled out latin/reggae vibes are freely available from Sebastian Nussbaum who usually records under the alias of Mabafu. This is music somewheres between hiphop and techno, between the urban hipness of Thievery Corporation and the mellow Euro-Latin electronica of The Gotan Project.

Bahia Aleman is an especially nice collection of Latin and Caribbean beats mixed with a healthy dose of club sounds. “Salasnita” sounds a little Nortec to me but “Cubana” is a bit like a psychedelic cha-cha. “Donde Fuiste” has a nice vocal by Alin over a reggae dub making it a favorite track of mine.

Sonido Del Callao is more hip-hop influence, more down-tempo and a little darker. The music is rather club oriented . Of the 12 tracks, the tile song stands out with its mellow beat and a dynimate rap. If you’re into the club scene, Sonido Del Callao may be your thing. I prefer the latin chills of Bahia Aleman. Either way, I think you will like Mabafu.

Bahia Aleman is available in VBR MP3 while Sonido Del Callao is in either MP3 or Ogg Vorbis Format.

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Bahia Aleman
Sonido Del Callao

The new music blog BlocSonic has the potential to be one of the most exciting entities in internet music. The goal is to offer a complete online album monthly showcasing free legal music from various netlabels. The Netbloc series will offer music from all genres complete with art and a pdf format booklet of liner notes.

If Volume One: The Opening Salvo is an example, we are all in for a treat. The choices come from rock, electronica, world ambient, dub, and even blues. I certainly know the art of finding good quality free and legal music can be easily equated to the proverbial needle in a haystack. BlocSonic appears to have a talent for finding needles. The first track is an attention getting “Seven Faces of Him” by a tight post-rock band called M.A.C.Z.A. Things immediately chill down with a tasty Europen hip-hop number by Raflesia. But BlocSonic doesn’t play it safe as the third track throws you into Blues territory with a down-home rendition of “Good Ol’ Shoe” by Patchwork on the Blues. The variety and quality of this compilation is so strong I’m tempted to list and describe all ten tracks but here are a few favorites. Melissa Welch’s “Nano Moon Coral” continues to prove that Ms. Welch is one of the more creative artists currently doing down-tempo and IDM. Happy Elf’s retro 80s’ synthesizer groove never sounded never than on “You Foxy Lady”. Finally, Phou Trakk has a new age / Asian groove piece titled “Long Transfer” guaranteed to mellow out your day.

The album is available in FLAC format or MP3s of 192kbps or 320kbps. The excellent 36 page booklet is in PDF format. After you sampled this great collection, I’m sure you will want to come back for the series each month. Bookmark it as your second favorite source for free and legal MP3. ( I don’t think I need to tell you what your first choice for internet music should be, do I?)

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