If It's Too Loud...

We're not exactly known as a jazz blog, but every so often we can dabble, especially if it's jazz that's mixed with a little bit of hip hop. Back in November we brought you "Mustard Green" from Hot Mustard, and now they're back with "Nickel Empire." This new song features Jordan McLean of Antibalas on trumpet, Dave "Smoota" Smith of TV on the Radio on trombone, and Helen Gillet on cello. As with "Mustard Green," "Nickel Empire" leans heavily into 70's funk and soul along with boom bap era hip hop. Hot Mustard make the kind of music that make you feel cooler for knowing, and this one is containing some of the funkiest cello work you've ever heard. You need to listen to this one, especially if you're the kind of person who has never been able to get into jazz. You can watch the video for "Nickel Empire" below. Seconds is due out March 31 on Color Red Music. You can pre-order a copy here . For more on ...

Back in November we brought you "Mustard Green," the latest single from instrumental duo Hot Mustard. They are back with another new single that heavily borrows from late 60's/early 70's funk and soul along with the golden age of hip hop. "Butcher Block" reminds me a lot of sound collage mixes, which tend to sample heavily from classic soul, funk, and hip hop. The main difference is that this isn't a sonic collage but live instruments. The result is a mixture of those three genres along with jazz, giving the whole song a certain retro cool vibe while still sounding new and fresh. It's a song that is impossibly cool and also its own unique version of fun. You can watch the video for "Butcher Block" below. Seconds is due out March 31 on Color Red. The album can be pre-ordered here . For more on Hot Mustard, check out the band's website .

The latest from Hot Mustard features Jordan McLean from Antibalas on trumpet and TV on the Radio's Dave "Smoota" Smith on trombone. "Mustard Green" is this impossibly funky blend of 70's soul, jazz, and hip hop. It's an instrumental track that slowly wanders its way through all of those genres, and just kind of meanders around different tempos as well. It's one of those impossibly cool songs that truly dares you to define it. This is the perfect song if you like The Roots, Guru, The Soul Rebels, or other genre blurring artists. Even if you aren't a fan of any of those, you should truly check out "Mustard Green." This is the kind of song that will reward you for stepping outside of your usual comfort zone. Jack Powell says of his band's new song: "There is some heavy contrast in this one, part of it is light and easy and part of it is ominous and foreboding. An interpretation that I like is the need to overcome discomfort to rea...